


One Time, At Bible Camp...

by GleefullyWicked, wildnoutinwildemount



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Alyssa Greene's praise kink, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Christian guilt, Dirty Talk, F/F, Lesbian Sex, Love Confessions, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Phone Sex, Pre-Musical, Smut, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-07-10 18:00:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19909891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleefullyWicked/pseuds/GleefullyWicked, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildnoutinwildemount/pseuds/wildnoutinwildemount
Summary: It's Alyssa's last summer at Bible Camp before senior year, and six weeks is proving to be an awfully long time to be away from her girlfriend. Especially when this year's camp focus strikes a little too close to home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fandom needed a smut ice breaker, so here you go.

Six weeks in the wilderness near the Kentucky border with no cell phones, no internet, and most importantly, no Emma, isn’t the way Alyssa would ideally spend her summer. Bible camp has been a staple of her summers since she was six years old, but something seems to be different about her last year here. Where other years have always placed an emphasis on themes such as charity or God’s love for those who accept Him into their hearts, this year… this year is not that.

“-for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

This is particularly jarring for Alyssa when it’s coming from a young guy with over-gelled hair wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt.

_ Easy for him to say. No one’s wanting a piece of that anytime soon. _

“I encourage you all tonight before bed to look within yourselves for the courage to say no to temptation.” This is followed by the typical bowing of heads and some bland prayer that’s been said a million times before. Alyssa goes through the motions without really thinking about it. Her mind is miles away, back in Edgewater with her girlfriend until she’s brought back to the present by the movement of people around her as the pastor ends the prayer with a, “Now y’all go enjoy supper.”

With that, people flood out of the chapel to the mess hall, but Alyssa has lost her appetite. She walks past her waiting bunkmates and makes a quick excuse about cramps before heading in the direction of the counselors’ cabins. A few years ago, while feeling homesick for her mother, she discovered a few payphones, still somehow in operation, mounted outside their communal bathroom. It takes a moment of digging in her shorts pocket before she manages to produce a couple of quarters and a dime, so she’ll have to make this quick.

A few rings leave her anxious that Emma might be busy with something, until finally there’s a confused, “Hello?”

Weird landline number. Duh.

“Uh, hey. How’s it going back there?” There’s really no easy way to say, ‘I miss you like crazy and this place is trying to make me feel guilty for loving you.’ At least, not when you haven’t said those three big words out loud yet.

“Alyssa?” There’s some rustling on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of a door creaking shut. She’s home in her room. “What’s going on? You sound upset.”

“Oh, you know… just typical up-tight Christian doctrine being force-fed to us as an appetizer before dinner.”

“I hear that’s not too bad when you dip it in ranch.” Alyssa can practically see the cheeky grin on Emma’s face as she says that. God, she misses her. “But for real, is there anything I can do to help? Say the word and I’ll fire up old Bessie and be there in...two days? Depends on how many times she breaks down.”

“I wouldn’t wish this place on you or Bessie. I just… it’s not like it used to be. This place used to be fun and innocent. Now it’s all Coach Carr from Mean Girls during every sermon, and I feel like my sexuality is this giant cloud hanging over my head here. So I just wanted to talk to the person who makes everything a bit more… sunny?”

“Baby, I’ll be your sunshine anytime.” Emma is definitely grinning.

“I swear, if you start singing ‘My Girl’ I’m hanging up and asking for my change back.”

Emma laughs softly and then sighs. “You remember that ‘counselor’ my parents sent me to last year? He said that if I tried  _ really  _ hard, my feelings for girls could just be turned off and then I would find that one day, I’d wake up and think, ‘Huh, suddenly I like boys.’ Well, that never happened and that’s because all that crap about us being unnatural? It’s...it’s just garbage. You are the most brilliant, beautiful, kind person I know, and if that’s not enough to make you a good person in the eyes of God, then God’s fucking blind.”

Alyssa lets out a watery laugh, the tears that had been starting to fall giving way to the warmth and joy that Emma is able to bring her, always in her own very Emma way. “Careful. I don’t fully know how God works, but I’d rather not test him by cursing him on one of His phone lines.”

“So I guess that rules out dirty talk too, huh?” The cheeky grin is back.

“W-what?” Okay, Alyssa’s voice isn’t normally this high. She looks around quickly to make sure no one is listening, immediately feeling guilty without having done anything wrong. Maybe God  _ is _ watching. “Umm. I mean… I don’t think…”

“What are you wearing, Jake from State Farm?”

Narrowing her eyes as she realizes Emma’s joke, Alyssa huffs and looks down at herself before stating matter-of-factly, “Honestly, shorts that are far too short for pure thoughts and a purple spaghetti-strap tank top. Jake was on the water today.”

“Hey, babe?”

“Sweet talk won’t get you a better insurance quote. But yes?”

“My offer still stands about driving down there.”

“As much as I would  _ really _ love that… you have no idea… the drive is crazy enough as it is and Bessie isn’t the most reliable old girl. Also, I’m pretty sure my mom checks in with the counselors about my movements daily. I would rather face the wrath of God himself than her.”

“What, the thought of living dangerously doesn’t turn you on just a little?”

“Not as much as actually living and getting to see you again.” The words are out before Alyssa really has time to process them.

“Oooh my god,” Emma pauses for dramatic effect. “You’ve got it so baaad.”

“You’re one to talk considering you can’t keep your eyes off me at every single pep rally. You’re not subtle AT ALL. You’re lucky I like it.”

“I promise you, it’s not just at pep rallies. Do you even know how hot you are?”

Alyssa doesn’t really know how to answer that because obviously she knows objectively she’s attractive, but it isn’t like she tries to flaunt it. And if anything, her attractiveness tends to bring her way more unwanted attention from the opposite sex. But again, without stopping to think about what she’s saying, the words slip out. “Only when you’re looking at me.” 

As soon as she says it, though, she realizes it’s true. The only time she ever enjoys feeling beautiful is when Emma is the one looking at her like  _ that _ . Those are the only times it feels right or natural. Kaylee and Shelby go on and on about how powerful and sexy they feel when they drive guys crazy. Alyssa’s never felt like that… not until Emma looked at her like she was all she’d ever wanted.

“No pressure there. I guess I should keep my eyes on you from now on.”

“You better.” Alyssa bites her lip as she considers her next words. Her sort-of newfound realization is telling her to be daring. “Just your eyes, though?”

Emma audibly sputters at that. “Oh, uh, no? I guess if you wanted- okay?”

“Okay, if I wanted what?”

“If you wanted to…” Emma trails off and Alyssa imagines she’s making some kind of hand gesture. “You know.”

“Maybe. Or maybe we’re talking about completely different things. We’re being pretty vague here, Emma.”

“Yeah because this isn’t exactly a conversation I expected to have with you two hundred and fifty miles away.”

“So you’re saying if we were actually together right now, the conversation would be different?”

“You could say that.”

“I could. But I want you to say it.” Alyssa hopes she isn’t pushing too far because Emma is silent for several beats. But when she finally breaks the silence, it is more than worth the wait.

“If we were together right now, this conversation would have a lot less words and a lot more of me showing you just how good sinning can feel.”

Alyssa isn’t sure if Emma hears the almost strangled sound that she makes at hearing that, but the noise is quickly followed by the slam of the phone against the wall after it slips from her fingers. Her brain is in the process of trying to reboot as she scrambles to bring the phone back up to her ear and the rest of her body is way too warm all of a sudden, even considering the humid summer evening.

“S-sorry! Are you still there, Em? I… dropped the phone.” She tries for a casual laugh but it comes out breathier than she intended. “That… uh, sounds nice. Like,  _ really _ nice.”

“I’m glad you think so. It’s all I’ve been able to think about lately.” Emma scoffs at herself. “Since I’ve known you, really.”

“You think about me, or well… us, that much?” Alyssa is sure she’s blushing furiously but she doesn’t feel embarrassed like she would expect to. Instead, she feels this heady combination of flattered and excited and she wishes she had all the change in the world because everything Emma is saying is fascinating.

“Yeah, I do.” Emma makes a frustrated noise and Alyssa can hear what she thinks is the sound of her flopping down on the bed. “This really isn’t fair, Babe. I’m home alone and you’re hours away surrounded by people who would probably have aneurysms if they knew what we were talking about.”

“I know, Baby. If life were fair, I wouldn’t have to come here in the first place and I would be there with you right now, just the two of us.” She closes her eyes and briefly envisions herself stretched out in bed with Emma, their hands exploring and their legs entwined...

“Babe?” Emma sounds a little concerned.

“Hmm?” Alyssa responds a bit dazedly. 

“Uh, you just… you made a noise and I was just checking…” 

“Oh!” It takes her a second, but Alyssa realizes that, in her brief daydream, she’d let a sigh slip through. It wasn’t her fault Emma was so dreamy. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Was just thinking.”

“About?” Emma asks, a slightly smug tone to her voice.

Alyssa sighs again, almost ready to pout at the unfairness of it all. “About how I have to go back and sleep in a cabin full of obnoxious Bible thumpers when really I want to be in bed with my smokin’ hot girlfriend.”

“Huh. Don’t think I’ve met her.”

“Are you sure? She’s hard to miss. Wild blonde curls, dreamy hazel eyes, mysterious musician type, really cute butt. She makes me wanna go a little crazy.”

“How long until you come home again?” Emma asks. “I think your girlfriend  _ really  _ misses you.”

“Oh, so you’ve spoken to her? What did she say? Tell her I  _ really _ miss her too and can’t wait to show her just how much when I get back next month.”

Emma whines. “But why can’t I just come steal you away now? I’m sure Bessie will be fine if I tell her it’s an emergency.”

Emma’s whine almost breaks her, Alyssa leaning her forehead against the wall as she murmurs, “You’re making it really hard to say no. I can’t even begin to describe how much I wish we could do that.”

Suddenly, before Emma has time to respond, there’s a loud beep followed by a robotic woman saying,  _ “To continue this call, please insert another 25 cents.” _

“Dammit!” Alyssa tries to hold the phone between her shoulder and ear as she shoves both her hands in her pockets, trying in vain to find another quarter. “Em, if I get cut off, I’m so sorry but this damn phone wants more money…”

“Who knew God was a Capitalist?”

“Fox News, I think. But Jesus is supposed to be, like, the opposite… shit! I don’t think I have any more change, Babe…”

“Fuck. Okay, um, I guess since I probably won’t be hearing from you for a while, uh, stay safe. Don’t buy into that sin stuff. If anyone offers you magic mushrooms, don’t eat them. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“I’ll try and call again if I get the chance. You have no idea how much it helped to talk to you. You really are the best, Em. I can’t wait to -” And then the line disconnects. 

Alyssa growls and barely suppresses the urge to slam the phone back onto the receiver. She’d started the call sad and frustrated, and now she was ending it a whole mess of other emotions. Frustration is still top of the list, but of a completely different variety. She briefly considers actually going to get dinner now, but ultimately decides she isn’t in the right place to brave the loud and crowded mess hall, so she begins the walk back to her cabin.

The camp’s quiet, mostly deserted, leaving Alyssa alone with her thoughts--which seem to be completely in the gutter. Talking to Emma had definitely helped her feel better, but it had also ironically sent her brain spiraling in the very direction the pastor had been pontificating about. Still, the guilt doesn’t return. All she feels is a lingering warmth and a new kind of restlessness that isn’t entirely unpleasant.

The cabin is thankfully empty when she arrives, and she assumes (or at least hopes) that it’ll be that way for at least another half hour. Plenty of time to collect her thoughts and take a breather.

She kicks off her sneakers under her bunk and throws herself down on it, glad she hadn’t been stuck with the top one this year. She rolls onto her back and stretches out, groaning in satisfaction as several of her sore muscles start to ease. A day on the lake can really take a lot out you. A smile comes to her lips and she snickers. “Jake from State Farm… what a dork.”

For a person who’s gone through more in her life than anyone ever should, Emma sure is able to brighten any bad situation Alyssa finds herself in. She really is Alyssa’s sunshine. Hell, they literally just spoke only minutes ago, and Alyssa is already craving more of Emma. Everything about her is just… Alyssa doesn’t know how to describe it. She wonders if Emma is thinking the same thing right now, if she is still lying in her own bed thinking of Alyssa. That thought sends a thrill all the way down to her toes and her stomach flips in a way that is normally reserved just for when Emma kisses her. 

God, she really wishes she could be with Emma right now. Then Emma could tell her exactly what she was thinking about. Or maybe… what was it Emma had said? “Show you just how good sinning can feel?” The reminder of Emma’s words and all the images they evoke draws a whine from deep inside Alyssa.

She absently lets her hand wander to the waistband of her shorts, craning her head up to double-check that nobody is coming into the cabin right this second before she undoes the top button. She hesitates after that, nervous. Self-conscious, even knowing she’s completely alone with her thoughts of Emma maybe possibly doing the same thing to herself right now. Embarrassing as it is, she’s never actually done this before.

Masturbation is always something people talk about as if it’s just for gross teenage boys, not self-respecting good Christian girls. But then again, Alyssa highly doubts she counts as a good Christian girl anymore for a plethora of reasons that don’t involve her extreme desire to touch herself right now.

Alyssa imagines being home in Edgewater, in Emma’s room while Betsy’s out running errands or something. It’s a situation they’ve been in countless times before, never once going beyond kissing and maybe, if they’re feeling a little handsy, some over-the-shirt groping. They’re both on the bed, attempting to do homework but not really getting anything done between the not-subtle-at-all glances and lingering touches, and what is essentially a game of chicken to see who caves and attacks the other first. Alyssa is just about to throw her textbook across the room and then throw herself at Emma when she feels Emma move over so that she’s sitting just behind Alyssa, her arms slinking around Alyssa’s waist and her lips pressing against her neck. 

“I’ve been trying to solve the same math problem for the past half hour and it isn’t even that hard,” Emma grumbles against her skin, not sounding perturbed in the least. “It’s all your fault.”

“Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?” Fantasy Alyssa says, tilting her head to give Emma better access to her neck as one hand comes up to tangle in Emma’s hair, hand going close to her scalp to grab tight but only enough to elicit a surprised gasp from her.

“I have a few ideas,” Emma breathes as her hands find their way just under the hem of Alyssa’s shirt, blunt nails lightly scraping the skin of her lower stomach and making her shiver.

Alyssa’s--no, Emma’s-- hand ventures down the front of Alyssa’s shorts. She drags her own nails along the same skin low on her belly and bites her lip to stifle a gasp. Then she’s letting them slip lower, and her hips are raising to meet her fingers without her even thinking about it. Within the same breath, those same fingers are sliding inside her panties and there’s no way to contain the desperate moan she makes as she feels for the first time what Emma is capable of doing to her. All without even touching her for real.

Emma leans in to whisper in her ear, “Fuck, you’re so wet,” She kisses the spot just under Fantasy Alyssa’s ear and lets her teeth graze the skin. Emma’s fingers find Fantasy Alyssa’s clit almost effortlessly and like magic Alyssa’s fingers are mirroring their movements.

Alyssa makes a fist with her free hand to bite down on her knuckles as she circles her clit.

“Does that feel good, Baby?” Emma’s fingers move faster, almost over-stimulating her before slowing down, teasing the area around her clit for a few seconds.

“God, yes… Em, you feel so good,” Fantasy Alyssa is panting and sighing into Emma’s mouth as Emma uses her free hand to tilt Alyssa’s head to bring their lips together. 

Vaguely, Alyssa is unsure if maybe she had actually said that out loud, or if it was just in her fevered imagination. She can’t really find it in herself to care either way. And then Emma’s fingers are dipping lower and there’s so much more heat and slickness and Alyssa is  _ definitely  _ sure of the noise she makes this time as she slips a finger inside. It’s somewhere between a growl and a groan, deep from inside her, and she can’t decide which feels better: finally having her - Emma’s - fingers inside her, or the feeling of her body clenching hot and wet around her own fingers. Alyssa thinks maybe the best feeling would be Emma quivering on her hand the way Fantasy Alyssa is on Emma’s right now.

That thought alone is what nearly sends her over the edge. Everything starts to feel almost  _ too much _ . Her legs are starting to shake and she feels this building pressure and heat low in her stomach and at the base of her spine. In her fantasy, Emma seems to sense this and as she slides in a second finger, her other hand comes down to touch Alyssa’s clit with renewed purpose. 

In the fantasy, Emma pulls back from kissing Alyssa just enough to gaze into her face, her eyes drinking in every expression as her fingers urge Alyssa toward the edge. 

“Come on, Baby. I know you can come for me. You’re such a good girl, Lys. So pretty, so good. I love you so much baby, let yourself go for me.”

In that moment, Alyssa feels as if the building pressure inside her comes to a dizzying head and then explodes all at once in an overwhelming wave of pleasure that crashes over her again and again. She bites her lip and struggles to contain a moan far louder than anything else she’s let slip today and her fingers don’t quite still until finally she can’t take it anymore and she has to stop. She struggles to catch her breath, feeling like she couldn’t move right now if she wanted to.

As her senses slowly return to her, she realizes she’s trembling and every so often an aftershock will ripple through her. Her breathing and heart rate begin to ease back to normal, and she can’t stop a heady giggle from slipping past her lips. 

“Wow,” she whispers. Emma wasn’t kidding. That felt incredible, and Emma wasn’t even touching her for real, or even saying those things… Oh God. Fantasy Emma told Alyssa she loved her. That was a lot to process, especially considering how quickly it made her… come? Wow, she could say that now. She’s gotta say, this is not how she saw her night going when it started with a pointed sermon about how giving in to temptation will literally kill you.

She’s just starting to feel like she could get up without feeling light-headed when she hears footsteps on the wooden porch and she struggles to re-button her shorts before her roommates all file in, not paying her much attention as they all collapse on their respective bunks.

“Whoever thought rowing was a good idea should burn in hell.” One of her roommates mutters into her pillow.

“That’s the ancient Egyptians, and I’m pretty sure they went through enough,” Alyssa says, sitting up in bed. “So, did you guys have a good dinner?”

“Yeah!” Her roommate looks up from her pillow for a moment. “Wait, where were you? You weren’t hungry?”

“No,” Alyssa says, a secret smile playing at her lips. “Just thirsty.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A payphone is not gonna cut it. Also, these two are soft idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this isn't a oneshot after all. Whoops.

There is a time and a place for everything, and Alyssa having her sexual awakening at church camp sounds wrong on both counts to her, but if this is how it’s going to be, then so be it. After her conversation with Emma and the ensuing alone time that proved to be very eye-opening, sleep did not come easily or quietly for her. Her dreams were filled with various scenarios involving Emma and very little clothing, and she woke up feeling way more frustrated than she had the previous afternoon. It was literally like a whole new part of her was awake, and it was demanding all of her attention.

In any case, she’s not about to deal with it completely alone. The biggest hitch in that plan is that the one person capable of helping her is hours away, and Alyssa doesn’t have an endless supply of quarters, or a reasonable excuse to spend an absurd amount of time at the payphones (which she isn’t even supposed to know about at all).

Which is how she finds herself here, mapping out a plan to break into the so-called “Contraband Cabin”  _ Ocean’s 8 _ style. That’s not  _ technically _ what she’s  _ supposed _ to be doing, but call it “divine inspiration.” Brother Josh (aka Tommy Bahama) is leading their youth Bible study and is continuing his lessons on temptation when she gets the idea. She’s just reading along, jotting down pointless notes when the words seem to cut through her boredom and hormone-hazed brain. 

“ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Right now, Alyssa’s temptation is to hitchhike back to Edgewater and do some very unladylike things with Emma in her grandmother’s house. Her way out of that is to steal back her phone for some private time, and if it works out, then maybe God has her back after all. Though her back isn’t really the part of her she’s overly concerned about right now.

The plan is simple, really. First, she has to use her feminine wiles to charm the key from a counselor who’s been making eyes at her all summer. From there, she just has to wait for everyone to go to bed. The counselors like to sit around a campfire after lights out singing “Kumbaya” or whatever, so it’s going to be late. Once the coast is clear, she’s in. She assumes there are no  _ Mission Impossible _ type alarm systems, but if that turns out to be the case, she can always point the finger at the 21-year-old man who gave her the key in the first place.

In some very distant part of her brain, Alyssa realizes that all of this is ultimately very un-Christian behavior being used to try and make another supposedly un-Christian behavior seem more acceptable. But she is also a lesbian being made to attend a very up-tight Bible camp so none of this really makes sense. If it’s all for nothing in the end anyway, she may as well get to talk to her girlfriend and relieve some frustration if she can swing it.

“Alyssa?”

She hears her name for what she hopes is the first time it’s been called and looks up to find the circle staring her down. “Huh?” she asks.

“I asked, what is your take on this passage?” Pastor Josh repeats himself, sounding annoyed.

“Uh, well… it’s a little contradictory, for one?”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, see, how does God give us a way out of temptation when it gets to be too much to bear if he was never supposed to tempt us too much in the first place?” 

_ Why am I so unbearably horny for my incredibly hot girlfriend, Pastor Josh? You tell me. _

“I don’t think it’s contradictory at all. I think what’s being said is that any temptation, no matter how unique we think it to be, is nothing that we can’t overcome if we stick to our convictions. We only  _ think  _ that temptation is too much to bear, but there is always another option.” 

There’s a sort of patronizing tone to his voice, as if this were the only correct reading all along, so Alyssa wonders why he even bothered asking her. Probably because he knew he would be able to give this spiel no matter what. 

_ Douche. _

“Yeah, that… that makes sense,” she concedes, only to end her part in the discussion, and he thankfully doesn’t call on her again for the rest of their time together, allowing her to work out the finer details of her heist and what exactly she plans to do after. She doesn’t trust her bunkmates enough to think they wouldn’t rat her out to the counselors if they saw her phone, let alone caught wind of who she was talking to and what about, so she’s just coming to the conclusion that she will have to find a nice secluded place to make the call to Emma instead. 

And that’s when she spots her potential victim-- because that’s essentially what he will be --organizing sets of study Bibles, notebooks, and writing utensils in the back of the room. 

His name is Patrick, and it’s a well-known fact among the girls at camp that he has a little habit of taking a peek down all of their shirts any chance he gets. As much as Alyssa hates herself for doing it, she makes it a point to “casually” adjust her shirt as the session starts wrapping up and everyone is busy gathering their things. She doesn’t approach him until the rest of the class has finished filing out of the hall.

“Hey, Pat,” she greets him, a lilt in her voice that she doesn’t think she’s ever used before. She makes it a point to stand just a tad bit closer to him than is strictly necessary, immediately having to stifle a cough as the overwhelming scent of his Axe body spray hits her. Forcing a coy smile onto her face and fluttering her lashes, she places a hand on the table and leans forward, the position emphasizing the part of her physique she knows Patrick is most interested in.

He clears his throat, his stance indicating either discomfort or exactly what she’s going for. “It’s Alyssa, right?” He asks, trying to appear like he’s at least marginally interested in looking anywhere but at her chest.  _ So far, so good. _

“Oh, wow! You know my name? And here I was thinking someone like you wouldn’t even look twice at any of us lowly camp runts.” She shifts her stance slightly to further accentuate the curves of her body, inwardly gagging at titillating him this way, but thinking of how it’ll be worth it when she can finally speak to Emma again.

“Well, you uh, you make quite an impression.” His hand moves to rest on top of Alyssa’s and it takes everything in her to not recoil. Especially when she can see the ring of keys on his belt.  _ So close. _ “Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“I… well, to be honest, I was considering maybe applying to be a counselor here next summer, and everyone knows how great you are at your job, so I thought I would ask for some advice. Also,” Alyssa removes her hand from under his to lightly place it on his chest, “I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to  _ properly _ introduce myself since we might be working together in the future.”

He stutters a little, but grins and chuckles in that stupid way only guys who believe their own hype do, and Alyssa leans a little closer and giggles with him as her other hand slowly makes its way toward the keys hanging near his hip. “I think you would do really great. You just have to, um, follow a certain set of guidelines?”

_ Wow, it’s like he’s making this too easy. Maybe God is looking out for her after all. _

Alyssa lowers her voice and goes for what she hopes is a playfully wicked look as her hand manages to very carefully find its grip on the keys. “Oh see, that would be my  _ one _ problem. I’m  _ really  _ bad at following rules.” She notices the way his eyes widen at that and she thinks she’s got him. Now she just has to get the keys away without them jingling and alerting him. 

“I could always… show you the ropes sometime,” He leans in closer to her just as she manages to get the keys in a tight fist and pulls them off the clip.

“I’m sure you could and that’s very… generous of you, and oh! I’m so sorry Pat, but I just realized I’m running late for Life Skills. We’re supposed to be getting our babies today.” His borderline hungry look gets predictably less so at the mention of children and such pure activities, which is precisely what Alyssa is hoping for.  _ Creep. _

She pulls her hand back quickly and shoves it in her bag that holds her Bible and various other items, covering her intentions by pulling out a pack of gum and offering him a stick, still fluttering her lashes prettily and hoping he’ll take the hint that she has to leave without realizing he was being played. “Til we meet again?”  _ Hopefully never. _

Patrick takes the stick of gum and unconsciously licks his lips. “I look forward to it.”

Alyssa doesn’t stick around to see him (presumably) make a disgusting show out of shoving the gum in his mouth. She just wiggles her fingers in what she hopes is a passable flirty goodbye, turns on her heel, and books it out of the study hall.

With the most difficult part of her plan complete, it’s starting to hit her that she might actually be able to talk to Emma tonight. That thought alone is enough to help her shake off the lingering feeling of disgust from the whole ordeal with Pervy Patrick. The camp really shouldn’t be hiring people like him, but then again, she doesn’t really want to deal with the hypocrisy of Christianity right now.

She also briefly wonders if there will ever be a way to make these people understand just how fundamentally wrong it had felt to even play at being romantic with a boy, and how nothing that made her feel like  _ that _ could ever be what God wanted for her. Alyssa might not be in the purest state of mind in her current situation, but Emma always makes her feel safe, loved, and truly herself. She never feels uncomfortable or unnatural. She is exactly how God made her, and that’s never a mistake, right?

Or at least, that’s what she continues telling herself the rest of the day. She doesn’t even realize how obviously distracted she is until she’s sitting at dinner with a few bunkmates and it takes several tries for one of them to get her attention.

“ALYSSA!” Jennifer actually snaps her fingers in Alyssa’s face, which is something she didn’t know real people did. “Earth to Alyssa! What did you name your baby?” She points at the plastic doll lying face down beside Alyssa’s tray on the table.

Alyssa’s not sure if having an inside joke with yourself is more pathetic than funny, but she doesn’t exactly care right now. “Emmett,” she says, picking it up and cradling it with one arm when she spots the Life Skills teacher giving her a look from across the mess hall.

“Oh, that’s so cute! Like Twilight?”

“No.” She replies, clipped, as she watches the counselors slowly file out after finishing their dinner, undoubtedly heading out to the nightly bonfire. Everything is going according to plan. She gets up from her seat after a few more minutes, picking the doll up by its foot. “Anyway, I should probably go change his diaper or something. See you guys back at the cabin?”

“Sure?” Another bunkmate, Erica, replies, confused, but goes back to eating, regardless.

Alyssa  _ does _ head back to the cabin first, if only to drop Emmett off gracelessly on her bunk, then she does her best cat burglar impression and stealths her way across the grounds towards the main counselor’s cabin. It’s not where the counselors actually sleep so much as where their offices are and where all of the campers’ confiscated electronics and “contraband” are held until the end of their internment-- vacation? Alyssa supposes it depends on one’s point of view.

It only takes a little bit of trial and error with the wad of keys to find the correct one, and it takes everything in her to not do a happy dance when the doorknob turns in her hand.

“Now, if I were a phone…” She murmurs to herself as she goes digging. She supposes that they couldn’t make this part very easy, or they would have had someone try this a long time ago.

She doesn’t have much luck around the front desk, and the rest of that general area seems pretty sparse except for some chairs, a table, and posters or fliers on the wall. There is what looks to be a supply closet or something in the hallway off to the left heading back to the other offices, so Alyssa gives the door a try. Much to her surprise, the door is unlocked and opens into a dark storage room lined with shelves. She feels along the wall and then waves her hand around in the air searching for a way to turn on a light, her hand finally hitting a chain dangling from the ceiling. 

She swears she hears a choir sing when she sees nothing but plastic storage bins marked “Phones” and cardboard boxes marked, “Contraband,” but there’s definitely something devilish in the way she actually rubs her hands together and mutters, “Jackpot!” She doesn’t want to make it obvious she was here, so she quickly tries to ascertain if there’s a rhyme or reason to how the phones are stored. It turns out they’re stored by cabin name, which is simple enough, and she easily finds her cabin’s bin and fishes her phone out of it. 

As she’s shoving the phone into her bag and turning to shut off the light, something catches her eye sticking out of the top of the fullest contraband box.

Possibly the biggest Hershey bar she’s ever seen in her life. Without another thought, she’s pulling it out of the box, which she finds also contains a lukewarm but unopened two-liter of Mountain Dew, and a copy of a book, which upon further inspection is titled,  _ God and the Gay Christian. _

Much to her mother’s chagrin, Alyssa could never resist chocolate, and that particular book being here right now must be kismet. After brief deliberation, she settles for taking the chocolate and the book, figuring the Mountain Dew might be so big as to draw attention to herself in her small bag. Not wanting to press her luck any further, she turns out the light and makes her way out of the building as stealthily as she entered, making sure to lock the door securely behind her. 

She makes it back to the cabin just as everyone else is starting to arrive from the dining hall, trying to appear as casual and normal as possible as she joins her bunkmates in getting ready for bed. Waiting for everyone to fall asleep is torture, and Alyssa calls some of her bunkmates several names in her head that she’s sure they don’t deserve but whatever. She’s tired and sexually frustrated.

When the coast is finally clear, it’s past midnight. Once again she’s eternally grateful for her bottom bunk as she quietly slips into her sneakers, shoulders her bag, and tiptoes out of the cabin. It’s a slight trek down through the little bit of woods towards the lake, but the walk is more than worth it when Alyssa considers the better cell service down there and the privacy the boathouse will afford her for her call with Emma. 

It’s a beautiful summer night with a slight breeze, and the mosquitoes are thankfully not out in full-force. The moon is nearly full, bright and shining its reflection down on the calm lake. Alyssa sighs as she approaches the boathouse where they keep canoes, kayaks, and other boating paraphernalia, thinking how romantic it would be to really have Emma here with her right now.

Thankfully she didn’t just ditch the keys after her heist earlier, because the boathouse is also locked. After inspecting the lock and several of the keys, she’s able to find the right one and get inside the structure with as little noise as possible. She immediately decides against trying to turn a light on since that might alert people to her presence, but she can see well enough with the natural moonlight shining through the boards of the building and finds herself a place to sit on the enormous pile of lifejackets in the back corner. 

Taking a deep breath to center herself, Alyssa pulls out her phone and turns it on. She’s immediately thankful for two things: that she usually keeps it on silent, because otherwise the loud noise it would be making as it powers on might give her away, and that it had a full charge when she turned it in to the counselors. Her charger is back in her suitcase if she needs it, anyway, but still, it’s nice to not have to go back for it. (The counselors don’t confiscate chargers, just phones. The chargers are pretty harmless when there’s no phone to charge in the first place.)

She’s just about to press the call button next to Emma’s name and adorable picture when she realizes she’s spent so much time planning HOW to get here, that she doesn’t really know exactly what she’s going to say. Deciding not to overthink it, because this is EMMA, she takes a determined (albeit, shaky) breath and hits “call.”

It takes a few rings before there’s a grumbled, barely awake, “Hello?”

“So about the sinning thing… I may have become somewhat of an expert since the last time we talked. In more ways than just one,” Alyssa begins in her most conversational tone.

“Jesus, you can’t just wake me up and lay that on me.” Emma sounds much more awake as it sounds like she shuffles the phone to her other hand. “How are you even calling me right now? Did they kick you out?!”

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have lead with that. But the answer to your question actually lies in the “in more ways than one” part of what I said,” Alyssa realizes she’s starting to ramble a little, so she takes a deep breath and continues. “I kind of… stole a counselor’s keys and used them to get into where they keep all of our phones so I could get mine and have a way to call you because, after our conversation the other day, I couldn’t go another month without talking to you, Em.”

“Why, Miss Greene,” Emma pauses and Alyssa can practically hear the smirk on her face. “I didn’t realize I was dating such a bad girl.”

Alyssa’s cheeks - and maybe a few other body parts - flood with heat as Emma says that. “Well, you’re the one promoting sinful behavior. Maybe you’re just corrupting me.”

“Good. I think I might like you this way.”

“And which way is that? Irresponsibly horny?” Alyssa gasps slightly as she realizes what she’s just said. “I mean… I’m just…”

There’s a groan from Emma’s end. “Don’t you dare try to walk back that statement.”

“I… uh, okay. I just can’t stop thinking about you, and you said some things yesterday that really made me feel… you know, and I just  _ had _ to talk to you again.” Alyssa knows she sounds maybe a little desperate, but it’s not like Emma’s ever judged her for anything. “Especially after last night.”

“What happened last night?” Emma asks, sounding as if the secrets of the universe are being revealed to her.

Alyssa pauses for a moment, her heart beating rapidly as she considers what she’s about to say because, once she says it, there’s  _ really _ no way to walk it back. “I decided I wanted to find out how good sinning can feel, like you said.”

Emma gulps. “And you… hadn’t done that before?”

“N-no? Not  _ really _ . But I just… I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Em.” Alyssa squeezes her eyes shut and bites down on her lip, hoping she hasn’t said too much as she waits for Emma’s response.

“Fuck, that’s so hot, baby,” Emma says breathlessly.

It’s Alyssa’s turn to gulp. There’s something about Emma’s voice right now that is making her feel as if her entire body is buzzing. When Alyssa speaks again, her own voice is slightly breathy. “It… yeah, it was  _ really _ hot. You think so too?”

She can hear Emma try to suppress a moan. “Yeah, I really do.” After a beat, Emma adds, “Tell me what you did. I wanna know.”

Alyssa feels herself begin to lose the nervousness that gathered the moment she hit the call button. All she has been able to think about for days now is Emma, and the way Emma sounds right now… it’s exactly what she’s been wanting. Pushing past the lingering embarrassment at the newness of all this, Alyssa says, “On one condition.”

“Anything, baby.” 

“Be careful with promises like that, babe,” Alyssa giggles playfully. “No, my one condition is that you have to do the same. Tell me what you’ve done and what you think about.”

There’s a deep sigh, and then, “After you called me yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about you in those little shorts. How bad I wanted to pull you away from all those bible-thumpers and make you say God’s name in every way that you shouldn’t.” Emma scoffs at herself. “I don’t think I’ve come that hard since after the homecoming game.”

Alyssa whines as Emma’s words hit her square in the lower abdomen with a spike of heat that quickly travels downward. “You… after the homecoming game?”

“That uniform of yours drives me absolutely crazy. But you...out there being more gorgeous-- sexier than anyone else-- and knowing that you’re  _ mine... _ yeah. I thought about you as I got myself off in the band closet after the homecoming game. You’re all I ever think about. All I ever  _ want  _ to think about.” There’s a sound like Emma is taking in a sharp breath through her teeth, followed by a moan. “Your turn.”

“I would say what you’re doing is unfair if this weren’t the entire reason I risked getting kicked out of camp to call you. All I could think about after we got cut off yesterday was how much I wanted you to do exactly what you said. I couldn’t even go to dinner because I didn’t trust myself to be in mixed company. So I went back to the cabin and no one else was there, and I laid down and started wondering what you were doing… if you were lying in your bed thinking about me and wanting me just as badly,” Alyssa stutters as she starts to recount the next part, “and then I imagined us being alone in your room, and you were kissing my neck and whispering things in my ear and your hands were doing unbelievable things to me. So I couldn’t help but do those things to myself and… it felt  _ so _ good, baby. Better than good. I didn’t know…” she pauses and gulps, taking a shaky breath before forcing the next words out. “I didn’t know I could get like that… that  _ wet _ . Just from thinking about your fingers. You have no idea how much I love your hands, Emma.”

Emma’s next moan leaves little doubt as to what she’s doing to herself at this very moment. “Fuck, Lys. I bet you taste so fucking good.”

An answering moan is pulled from Alyssa’s throat before she’s even aware of it, her chest heaving and a now-familiar wetness beginning to pool between her legs. Emma sounds so fucking sexy right now, and all Alyssa wants is for her to keep making these sounds and talking about this.

“I haven’t tried that yet, but maybe I should. Are you… ” Alyssa should really just bite the bullet and forgo the shyness. Emma seems to have already. “Are you touching yourself right now? What are you thinking about?”

“Yeah, I’m touching myself. I’m thinking about how good it would feel to have you inside me. To show you just what you’ve been doing to me this past year. God, I want you, baby. I want you so bad.”

Just like the night before, Alyssa’s fingers find their way to her waistband, this time slipping underneath the elastic bands of both her pajamas and underwear without hesitation. Her mind is full of Emma. She can hear Emma’s labored breathing and her gasps and moans, and again, just like the night before, the thought of her fingers inside Emma drags a ragged sound from deep in her chest that ends up being partly Emma’s name and something else entirely.

“God Emma…  _ fuck _ I wish my fingers could trade places with yours right now. I want to feel you like  _ this _ ,” she gasps as her fingers slip through her folds, her body shuddering with need. “You sound so hot, baby. Please don’t hold back. I c-can’t believe you never told me you do this. I would have ditched that stupid party after the homecoming game for this.”

Emma’s already getting close. Alyssa can hear it in her uneven, gasping breaths. “God, fuck, I love you so much, baby. Please don’t stop.”

A jolt goes through Alyssa’s entire body. Emma loves her? Or well… maybe it’s just heat of the moment? She sounds like she’s really close to coming and Alyssa might be a virgin, but she knows people can say wild things when they’re near orgasm. But this… this is so close to the exact same thing Emma had said in her fantasy the night before. And Alyssa knows in her heart what she feels for Emma. She’s known it for far too long to have not said it.

All of this goes through Alyssa’s brain in a matter of seconds, and then she’s saying, “Yes Emma, come for me, baby. I need you to imagine my fingers and mouth right now, showing you how much I love you. Please, baby, I wanna hear that so bad. I love you so much, Emma.”

“Oh shit,” Emma gasps, her breathing’s heavy. There’s a moan that sounds like it comes from deep within her, and then there’s silence. For a second, Alyssa wonders if Emma finished before she, clear as day, asks, “Seriously?”

“What do you mean, seriously?! Seriously do I want you to come? Seriously do I wish it’s my fingers and mouth making you come right now? Seriously are my own fingers doing very sinful things at this very moment?” This is punctuated by a high-pitched gasp and something resembling a purr as Alyssa’s fingers tease around her clit. “Or d-do you mean - fuck! Do you mean seriously that I love you?”

“E. All of the above?” Emma offers weakly. “God, you’re so perfect, baby. I have no idea what you see in me.” 

Alyssa whines in a mixture of pleasure and an overwhelming urge to make Emma see and feel how truly loved she is. She stills her fingers, focusing her remaining mental faculties on properly expressing emotions. “Emma Nolan, I’ve loved you longer than I’ve even known I was gay. You’re the only real, honest, good thing in my life and I don’t know what I would do without you. No one could ever make me feel even a fraction of what you make me feel. You’re brave and sweet and silly, and I think you’re way cuter and sexier than anyone has a right to be. And finally, yes to everything else too because the sound of you about to come for me is enough on its own to get me to the point of no return. You… you really want to pick NOW to go into this? You said you loved me first, Emma. I mean… maybe you didn’t realize it because you were a bit… distracted. But literally two seconds before I said it to you, you were saying it to me.”

“I guess I didn’t expect you to say it back.” Emma’s voice is small and it almost breaks Alyssa. “I’m still waiting for the day when you come to your senses and realize you could have anyone you ever wanted but you chose me because… because I’m available.”

“Emma I could literally say the same thing to you, but I’m not. Would I really risk my mother’s wrath simply because you’re the only ‘available lesbian’ in town? Would I be breaking like a dozen camp rules to speak to you right now?” She makes a frustrated sound. “God, why can’t you be here for real? I don’t know what I have to do to prove it to you, but I love you so much Emma, and all I want is for you to feel the truth in that.”

“Alyssa, I love you, too. I just hate that you have to be so far away right now because god, you’re so good at making the whole world clearer for me. I know what I want, and it’s you. It’s always been you.” Emma sighs. “I just...really wish I wasn’t such an idiot for ruining the moment.”

With a fond smile, Alyssa chuckles. “Emma, with us, there are going to be plenty more ‘moments.’ You could never ruin something by being honest. I mean, did I really want to hear you come? Yeah, I really did. You sounded even better than I imagined. But hopefully, I will get to hear that countless times in the future both on the phone and in person. Saying ‘I love you’ for the first time only happens once, and it’s important.”

“Hey, Alyssa?”

“Yes, Emma?”

“I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you, you dork.”

“I should probably get back to sleep.”

Now it was Alyssa’s turn. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Do you trust me?”

“... I hope I don’t regret saying this, but yes.”

“Then keep your phone on you tomorrow. On silent or vibrate, of course.”

Alyssa narrows her eyes and huffs a little, but despite her body’s protests, her heart and mind are screaming in joy and anticipation. And love… mostly love.

“You’re lucky you’re hot, Nolan. I wouldn’t risk this for just anyone. But I promise I’ll keep my phone with me all day tomorrow. You better make it worth it, though,” Alyssa teases.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you only wanted me for my body.”

“I could say the same about you Miss HomeCOMING. Anyways, since you’re so anxious to get back to sleep, I’ll let you go. I need to get back to the cabin and check on baby Emmett, anyway. Oh, I forgot to tell you, babe! We have a son and I named him after you!”

“...What the f-” is the last thing Alyssa hears before she ends the call, laughing mischievously. She has to physically restrain herself from skipping the entire way back to the cabin. No, tonight didn’t go exactly as she had hoped (certain parts of her anatomy are still crying out for attention) but now she has something even better.

Emma loves her. Emma loves her and she loves Emma. They’re in love and they told each other and it’s as if Alyssa’s heart is singing a song so loudly she’s worried the entire camp will hear it. She has no idea what Emma has planned or why she wants Alyssa to keep her phone on her tomorrow, but at this point, Alyssa would give Emma the moon and the stars just for being hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of your angry comments regarding lesbian blue balls can be directed at Gleefullywicked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so this kind of got to be way more than we ever intended it to be. What was initially just a fun, admittedly naughty, idea, grew to be more than that. And yeah, there is a lot of smut here, but turns out there's actually a lot of heart here, too. We also didn't intend for this to be posted on the day the show actually closes, but some things, like Alyssa finding that book in the 'Contraband Cabin' (which IS A REAL BOOK, BY THE WAY!), are just kismet.  
> The Prom has meant so much to so many people, and the message it promotes is something we should all aspire to put out into the world. The show has something for everyone, which might not be true for what we've written here. Especially when you take age/ratings into consideration. (Looking at you, kiddos!) But we still want that to be the legacy of any work either of us put out in regards to The Prom. Yes, that means we are/will be working on other stuff. Individually and together.  
> This chapter is already long enough without me Trent Oliver-style pontificating here, but we're all very emotional right now, right? Anyway, enjoy! And remember, life's no dress rehearsal, so GIVE IT SOME ZAZZ!  
> Oh! Almost forgot... there's a playlist!  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BvvHX7zezsYycVq5c4FUk?si=W2j9aUNFSUyQwNLxTINR2A
> 
> And, for those of you wanting a mental image, Jennifer's face claim is Diana Silvers. You're welcome. ;)

If Alyssa thought sleep was difficult the previous night after her little solo tryst in her bunk, trying to sleep after an almost-successful phone sex session with Emma is almost impossible. Her heart might be full to bursting at their love declarations, but her body is screaming for release, while her mind is racing trying to figure out what Emma has planned that requires her to keep her phone on her all day tomorrow. Sleep does eventually come to her, though to call it restful would be a lie worthy of a lightning strike. 

It’s past three the next day when Alyssa starts getting  _ really _ impatient. It’s been radio silence from Emma since their call last night, and she’s honestly starting to worry that her stupid baby joke didn’t land so well. And worse yet, she’s pretty sure Patrick has been making eyes at her all day.

“Does anyone think it’s a little messed up that they’ve got an actual pervert working here?” Alyssa whispers to her bunkmate Jennifer after Patrick passes just a little too close to them while they lounge in the sun near the lake. It’s a Freebie Friday, so the older campers get to choose whatever activity they like and spend the whole day at it.

Jennifer shrugs. “Not like anyone’s gonna do anything about it.”

“Yeah, and that’s  _ messed up.”  _ Alyssa feels the need to cross her arms over her chest when she sees Patrick sneaking another glance at her before continuing on to… whatever it is he actually does.

“Well, I heard that he’s been bragging to some of the other counselors. Something about you flirting with him after bible study yesterday?” Jennifer lowers her voice, looking at Alyssa skeptically.

Alyssa abruptly sits up, her body and voice tense. “ _ What?! _ I asked him for advice on maybe applying here for a summer job! Besides, he’s old enough to drink and I’m still in high school!”

“Hey, I’m just repeating what I heard. But I mean, you  _ have  _ been acting really weird these last few days. Is something up with you?”

_ You mean besides pulling off a cell phone heist so I can have a very sexy, very lesbian conversation with my girlfriend while I’m supposed to be praising Jesus? _

Her bunkmate Erica gasps from Alyssa’s other side, pulling off her aviator sunglasses to look her in the eye. “Oh my god,” She points at baby Emmett, lying in the sand near Alyssa’s feet. “You aren’t pregnant, are you? Because my older sister just kinda fell down some stairs, and-”

“No! Oh my god, no, I’m not pregnant!” There’s way more to unpack in what Erica just said than Alyssa has the energy to deal with, so she just leaves that subject where it is. Alyssa sighs and takes off her own sunglasses to look at her bunkmates, hoping the gesture adds some sincerity to what is about to be a bald-faced lie. “Look, I’m just having a really difficult time being away from my boyfriend, Emmett. It’s the first time we’ve been apart for this long, and things were starting to get… serious.”

“Ohhh,” Jennifer says, gesturing at the doll. “Alyssa, you should have  _ told us.  _ My boyfriend Billy is at the Boy Scout camp across the lake and I don’t know what I would do with myself if we hadn’t found that spot on the north shore.” After a second, Jennifer holds up her hands defensively. “Oh, but I always draw the line at third.”

“Pretty sure you aren’t supposed to do  _ any  _ of that, Jen,” Erica says and takes Alyssa’s hand in her own. “Alyssa, you just have to remember that the longer you save yourself for that moment, the more special it’ll be when it finally happens after you’re married.”

_ Maybe you should’ve told your sister that.  _

Already regretting her decision to share even a fake personal story with these girls, Alyssa just nods solemnly in agreement with Erica and goes back to sunbathing. At least they proved to be a momentary distraction from her impatience, which is still going strong as she covertly sneaks a peek at her phone in her bag and… still nothing from Emma.

She all but growls as she gets to her feet. “I’m gonna go cool off,” she says to her bunkmates, who make no indication that they’re going to follow her, which is just as well. She begins to jog her way towards the edge of the lake but slows her stride as she feels unwanted eyes raking over her body, even from several yards away. From out of the corner of her eye, she can tell it’s Patrick and a couple of his buddies. Her bikini isn’t even  _ that _ revealing; it’s not allowed to be. Deciding she’ll be harder to ogle in the water, Alyssa quickly sprints the last bit of distance and dives off the end of the pier and into the lake.

The cold water is exactly the shock to her system she didn’t realize she was craving until she’s plunging down deeper into the water, resolved to stay under as long as her lung capacity will allow. With everything being so crazy above the surface, it just feels good to shut off her senses for a moment. She doesn’t realize how long she’s been down there until she’s finally swimming up to the surface and gasping for air.

She supposes that real drowning doesn’t actually feel much different from what she experiences every day of her life. Trying to stay afloat amidst all of her mother’s expectations can be like trying to fight a riptide. She considers herself blessed any moment she gets to come up for air, and the only consistent source of oxygen her beleaguered heart has in this maelstrom of chaos is  _ Emma. _

And here she is again, flowing into Alyssa’s thoughts and bringing everything her heart needs, just as fresh air does for her lungs. Alyssa sighs and lets her eyes flutter shut, backstroking out a little way and then floating peacefully on her back for several minutes until she hears a holler and a splash not too far off. She lifts her head up to make out the source of the disturbance and sees that it’s a small group of male campers (probably freshman, if she had to guess) who apparently decided to cannonball into the water and are now debating on how to best play a game of chicken.

Not wanting to be collateral damage or dragged into their foolishness in any way, Alyssa takes a deep breath and dives back beneath the water, swimming back to the pier and only surfacing when she’s close enough to pull herself up. As she does so, it’s impossible for her not to notice the number of people gawking at her, both on the shore and in the water. This isn’t really something she can help, but it also doesn’t make it any less bothersome. The only person she enjoys looking at her like this is Emma, which gives her a, frankly, brilliant idea. But first, she needs to get somewhere alone.

Everyone is still leering at her, and some of these guys’ gazes are bordering on outright inappropriate, with Patrick obviously being the most lecherous of all. She notes that a couple of the higher-ups are mingling close by him, and a very devious bell goes off in her head as a second idea comes to mind.

_ I’ll teach him to brag to his buddies about nonexistent conquests and to put moves on underage girls. _

She steps up fully onto the pier, flipping her hair back and running her fingers through it with way more gusto than is necessary before strutting her way proudly back up the length of the pier and onto the shore. Who’s to say if she adds a little extra sway to her hips as she walks? Then she’s making a beeline for her spot by her bunkmates, bending over to retrieve her towel and bag with a flourish and sauntering off towards the changing rooms. She makes sure to pass by Pervy Patrick along the way, smirking when she notices his two superiors (who are, thankfully, two middle-aged women) glaring at him suspiciously as he flushes about five shades of red and not-so-subtly tries to readjust his shorts.

Alyssa giggles to herself as she hears Patrick being reprimanded and she heads into the changing rooms, reaching into her bag for her change of clothes when she remembers her first and more important idea. Maybe all Emma needs is a little visual of what she’s missing--after all, if Pervy Patrick can ogle her, why shouldn’t her own girlfriend? She keeps digging for her phone and pulls it out as soon as she’s pulled the curtain closed on her stall. She’s not so stupid as to risk sending nudes, but this should be close enough since she’s pretty sure the least amount of clothes Emma’s seen on her is her cheer uniform.

Alyssa tries not to feel ridiculous as she makes what she hopes is a sultry face at the camera, making sure the angle allows for a nice view of her pink bikini that, on second thought,  _ may _ be pushing the camp’s modesty code, but whatever.

“Let’s see you ghost me now,” she whispers to herself as she adds the caption ‘ _ Wet hair, don’t care’  _ and hits  _ send _ . It doesn’t take long before the message shows  _ read _ and, much to Alyssa’s disappointment, there is no immediate response being typed. She pouts for a moment, pursing her lips and thinking of another possible boundary she could push without outright sending her girlfriend pornography. Well, go big or go home, right? (Oh if only she  _ could _ go home!) 

Alyssa unties her bikini top and crosses one arm across her chest, covering the majority of her breasts but also pushing them upward enough for ample cleavage, all the while being very careful so as to not let anything slip through. Tugging her lower lip between her teeth, she holds the phone out and snaps the picture before she can think better of it. She looks at the result and actually whistles under her breath. She  _ really _ hopes no one but Emma ever sees this. The thought of Emma seeing it, though, sends a delicious shiver through her and soon she is typing out, ‘ _ Better text back before I run out of clothes _ …’

Alyssa thinks she might scream when that stupid  _ read  _ pops up again, followed by absolutely nothing. Not even the little typing bubble. And then she gets a picture.

It’s Emma, lying on her back with her eyes closed in what appears to be… a grocery store aisle? Did she actually have Betsy take this picture while grocery shopping? Except, upon further inspection, it doesn’t look like any of the grocery stores in Edgewater.

A few seconds later, an actual text comes through.

_ Emma: Lol did you know Larry Bird grew up in French Lick, Indiana?’ _

That… is not what Alyssa expected Emma’s first text of the day to be. Especially when Alyssa’s two preceding texts were basically foreplay.

_ Alyssa: I did not, but why the sudden interest in basketball and linoleum floors? _

_ Emma: ‘Cause I’m in French Lick _

_ Emma: And you sent me those pics right in front of the salad _

_ Alyssa: Well I hope the French Lick salad appreciates the show… _

_ Alyssa: … WAIT! _

Alyssa immediately stops typing, hitting the call button instead as she pulls her towel tightly around her and peeks outside the stall to make sure no one is around.

“Heeey!” Emma answers, her voice far too casual and cheery for someone who is  _ clearly _ up to something.

“You’re in French Lick?! As in… the town closest to my camp? The one that’s barely even fifteen minutes away?!” Alyssa’s voice is rising in pitch with each word and she has to take a deep breath to center herself as she awaits Emma’s response.

“Uh, yeah, I think Bessie’s gone through a couple quarts of oil since we left town this morning, but she’s doing better than expected. I just… I couldn’t leave things how we left them last night and I figured, what the hell, what’s 250 miles?”

Alyssa is quite literally speechless for several seconds because  _ what do you say to that?! _ She doesn’t realize she’s crying until she goes to take a breath and she sniffles instead. “You drove 250 miles in your beat-up old truck to the ass-end of nowhere Indiana just on the off-chance that you could see me? When you could have texted or called or asked to FaceTime?” Then a thought occurs to her. “This is why you had to get off the phone so suddenly last night?”

“Nothing compares to actually being with you. So after our call last night, I got a few hours of sleep, tuned Bessie up for the trip, and here we are. Well, here I am in a JayC.”

“Emma Nolan, you are absolutely insane. And I think I just fell in love with you all over again.” Alyssa’s tears are still falling but her voice is strong and filled with pure wonder and adoration. “Where did you learn to be the most romantic person on the planet and how did I get to be lucky enough to have you?”

“More romantic comedies than any young lesbian should ever watch, and sheer fate, baby.” There’s the beeping of a checkout counter in the background. “So I have to make a few more stops, but do you think you’ll be able to sneak away in a couple hours?”

“Wild horses couldn’t stop me, babe,” Alyssa’s agreeing before she even has time to consider the logistics. “Did you have a place in mind? Because I might know a place.”  _ Maybe listening to Jennifer’s straight girl story wasn’t a total bust. _

“Uh, no, I hadn’t thought that far ahead, to be honest.”

“Surely you thought farther ahead than just driving here? I mean, why else would you make the trip?” Alyssa can’t resist teasing just a little. 

“I thought far enough ahead to plan dinner. Pizza sound okay?”

“With you? It sounds perfect.” Of course, Emma planned to wine and dine her. She was practically the hero in a romantic comedy herself. “Okay, so I heard about this spot on the north shore of the lake. One of my bunkmates says she meets up with her boyfriend from the Boy Scout camp across the lake there to… canoodle. Does that sound good?”

Emma gasps exaggeratedly. “Alyssa, are you suggesting we go to a shady hookup spot?”

Alyssa rolls her eyes. “Now Emma, surely you know me better than that. Especially given recent events. No, I’m saying we are  _ definitely  _ going to a shady hookup spot, because if I don’t get my hands on you soon, I’m going to go crazy.”

There’s a loud clack from Emma’s end, followed by some muffled sounds and then, “Oh thank god for screen protectors. You there, Alyssa?”

“Mmhmm,” Alyssa’s biting her lip to stifle her laughter. “You really should be more careful with your phone. Wouldn’t want to lose all your pictures or anything. Memories are priceless, you know.”

“Oh yeah, they are. But that sounds… that sounds great. I guess I can meet you there?”

“You better! I’ll tell my bunkmates that I’m not feeling too well and that I’m gonna bail on dinner, then I’ll stage a few things in the cabin and meet you out on the north shore. Should I bring anything?”

“Besides your fine self and maybe your appetite?” Emma pauses a moment. “You wouldn’t happen to have a bottle opener, would you…? It’s fine, I’ll get one.”

“Oh, a Greene is  _ always _ prepared!” Alyssa says with only a tiny hint of sarcasm. “I’ve got my Swiss Army Knife in my bag. That should do it!”

“Awesome! Well, I should probably go. I gotta put Bessie’s spare tire on.”

“Remind me to give the old girl a big hug and a kiss tonight. She is a noble steed.”

“I think she loves you almost as much as I do, or she never would have made the trip.”

Alyssa full-on romance novel sighs at that. Who gave Emma the right to be this charming? It’s unfair, really, but Alyssa isn’t about to complain or fight it. 

“I really,  _ really _ can’t wait until later, Em. But I’ve been standing here in just a towel for the past several minutes and I should probably finish getting changed before people start to get suspicious about why I’m taking so long in the changing room. Also, I think I left Baby Emmett… you know, our son… out by the lake and my Life Skills teacher is probably going to put me down as a neglectful parent.”

“Okay, seriously, what the hell?”

“You’ll see. Now you go take care of Bessie. I’m going to get dressed and go retrieve our son before he falls prey to a wild animal, or worse, some freshman boys.”

“Don’t get dressed too much.” Alyssa can practically hear Emma waggle her eyebrows.

“Well if you were here right now, it would be one thing. But I’m definitely not into the guys here looking at me like I’m a hot fudge sundae.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m a fan of that, either.” Emma sounds possessive, and Alyssa can’t deny how hot it is. They really should hang up now, but Alyssa can’t resist another playful tease.

“We can have dessert after dinner, babe.” She hopes her seductive look comes across on the phone.

“Really? Well, you know I’m a diabetic.”

“How do you manage to go from dead-sexy one minute to total doofus the next? If you don’t want a taste, that’s fine. More for me.”

“You think I’m sexy?” Emma all but purrs into the phone.   
“Mmhmm, yeah I really do. Wait another couple of hours and I’ll prove it to you.”

“I look forward to it. We should probably hang up for real this time,” Emma chuckles. “Bye, baby.”

“Bye, Em.”

The line disconnects and Alyssa just stands there for a second, processing everything that just happened. Still standing in just a towel and her bikini bottoms, she can’t stop herself from squealing with delight and lightly jumping up and down. She makes quick work out of getting changed, her mind already racing ahead to what she should wear to her and Emma’s romantic rendezvous. 

She tries to appear as composed as possible on the walk back to where she left her Life Skills project - sorry, her  _ son  _ \- by Jennifer and Erica. Thankfully no one has absconded with her hideous plastic offspring, so she scoops him up and cradles him halfheartedly against her shoulder. 

“We thought you got lost between here and the changing rooms,” Erica says. “I don’t blame you for taking a while, though. Coming back out after  _ that _ couldn’t be easy.”

Alyssa cocks an eyebrow, as if daring Erica to explain her reasoning. She’s a varsity cheerleader; pettiness is nothing new to her. Bible camp isn’t exactly the first place she would expect to encounter it, though. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just… well, you know how people are already talking,” Erica backtracks, unable to meet Alyssa’s intense stare.

“I know that people only  _ keep _ talking because of remarks like the one you just made,” Alyssa snaps. “Would you care to tell me what I did that was supposedly so mortifying that you thought I hid myself in the changing rooms?”

“You were  _ obviously  _ trying to lead Patrick on,” Erica says in the loudest whisper Alyssa has ever heard.

“Oh, come on!” Jennifer  _ actually _ whispers back. “Alyssa already told us about her boyfriend back home. Patrick looks at anything with…” she gestures to her own chest area before continuing, “And I’m pretty sure he’s going to be stuck helping water and sewage detail for a while after the way Mrs. Bradley was reaming him out.”

“Whatever,” Erica rolls her eyes. “I just know that his entire… situation he had going on was gross. Thanks for inspiring that little show, Alyssa.”

Alyssa’s just about to well and truly go off on Erica when Jennifer snorts, cutting in with, “Yeah, I think ‘little’ would be an accurate description. Personally, I think Alyssa’s… display was worthy of a little more enthusiasm.”

“Thank you, Jennifer. I think? Look I just think it’s messed up that a bunch of us girls have to be paranoid about getting in the water and having fun simply because of perverts like him,” Alyssa explains.

“So you  _ did _ do that on purpose,” Erica accuses.

“Maybe,” Alyssa shrugs and then looks at Jennifer and smirks. “Or maybe I’m just hot. We can’t help it if we are, right?”

“Damn right!” Jennifer says, a little too loudly. She winces and looks around to make sure no one heard, then meets Alyssa’s eyes and bursts into giggles.

They don’t stick around the lake for much longer, and Alyssa’s grateful because she knows her hair is going to be unmanageable if she can’t do something with it before it dries--and tonight of all nights is not one when she wants to wear a hat. She’s  _ especially  _ grateful when Erica breaks off from her and Jennifer to go do God knows what… probably report Alyssa’s “inappropriate behavior” to the counselors, to be honest.

When she and Jennifer are almost back to their cabin, Alyssa walks just a little closer to her. “So, would you be willing to do me a huge favor tonight?” She asks, looking around for any eavesdroppers.

“Depends on the favor,” Jennifer says, rightfully suspicious.

Alyssa stops and gestures for Jennifer to come in closer. “I need you to cover for me at lights out, okay?” She whispers.

“Why? What’s going on?” Jennifer asks, and suddenly her eyes go a little wide with horror, “You aren’t like…  _ actually _ doing anything with Patrick, right? Like, no judgment, but ew!”

“No! I-” Alyssa pauses, wondering how she can word this without making it obvious that she’s in possession of her cell phone. “You know my boyfriend Emmett? Well, he drove all the way down here and we’re supposed to be getting together for a little alone time tonight.”

Jennifer gasps. “Oh my god, that’s so sweet!”

Alyssa smiles, allowing herself a moment to gush about Emma, even if she’s only telling half-truths. “He really is the sweetest! He’s even bringing dinner.” She sighs. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

“Someone’s got it so baaad!” Jennifer nudges Alyssa with her elbow. “He must be super cute, right? I mean, I can’t see you dating anyone who isn’t a total hottie.”

“He’s got… wavy blonde hair and he’s kind of rebellious, but also a huge dork. He plays the guitar.”

Jennifer throws her head back dramatically. “Ugh, that’s so good.”

Alyssa smiles and shakes her head. “I think-- no, I do. I love him.” She smiles wistfully at that. She’s only just told herself and Emma that much, so telling someone else feels… incredible. Like they aren’t hiding completely anymore.

“Take it from me, when you know, you know. And don’t listen to what people like Erica say. Sometimes what God wants for us is not so cut and dry.” She leads the way up the steps to the cabin. “And if you need condoms, I have some in my bag. We don’t want you ending up like Erica’s sister.”

“Condoms in your bag, huh? What happened to drawing the line at third?” Alyssa snickers.

“Oh please, that line was to keep Erica from lecturing me. Personally, I think a good lay might actually help her attitude. And as for drawing the line at third… well, everyone cheers louder for a home run, right?” Jennifer winks conspiratorially, and Alyssa feels bad for her previous rush to judgment about her bunkmate. “Now, what are you gonna wear tonight?” 

They’re starting to look through Alyssa’s wardrobe, and Alyssa hums thoughtfully. “I’m not totally sure. It’s not like I brought clothes to church camp that are meant for getting lucky.”

“What about this?” Jennifer asks, holding up one of Alyssa’s nicer (and noticeably less churchy) dresses. “Pink is kinda sexy, and it’s form-fitting and short enough, too. With your looks, he’d have to be blind for this not to get his engine revving.”

“That’s… actually, yeah that’s kind of perfect. Definitely my best option here. But what about…” Alyssa clears her throat, unsure why she’s suddenly hesitant when Jennifer has already offered her condoms. “What about underwear?”

“Are you even planning on wearing any?”  _ Wow, Jennifer is a wild woman. _

“Yes!” Alyssa’s voice squeaks a little. “I have to walk through some woods and around part of the lake to meet he- him. I’d rather have something on down there. Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Okay well, what have you got? Any that are a similar color to the dress? Also, just panties, right? No bra? I wouldn’t with that dress.”

“Are you sure?” Alyssa cups her breasts in her hands. “You don’t think they’re just gonna… fall out?”

“If Emmett’s lucky! Now, any panties that scream ‘take me off’ in your collection?”

“Hmm… maybe a few pairs?” Alyssa rummages through to the very bottom of her underwear drawer where she’s hidden the few pairs of lace boyshorts she secretly bought while at the mall with Kaylee and Shelby. She holds up the pair that’s almost identical in color to the dress they’ve chosen. “These good?”

Jennifer whistles. “Yeah, those should work even in a non-church camp situation. What on Earth made you bring those with you, girl?”

“Honestly? I didn’t want my mom to find them while I was gone.” Alyssa attempts to laugh it off, but Jennifer just nods in understanding. “Uh… so I’m going to take a quick shower and do something with my hair, since we have this all sorted out.”

“Make sure you shave. I’m just gonna put these,” Jennifer retrieves a comically long strip of condoms from her bag and shoves them into Alyssa’s, “in here.”

As she’s gathering her things to shower, Alyssa makes a mental note to toss a few of the condoms somewhere so Jennifer thinks she used some. It crosses her mind briefly to toss all of them, just to see Jennifer’s reaction, but she figures that would be a waste of money and much-needed protection. 

A little while later, she’s showered, shaved, moisturized, and primped to a point no one would ever expect to be in the middle of the woods. It’s almost dinnertime, so she arranges her pillows and blankets into a believable Alyssa shape, and then dons her chosen outfit. The plan is for Jennifer to make sure no one bothers “Alyssa” because she doesn’t feel well and went to bed early, which should be simple enough.

The dinner bell sounds before long, and Alyssa waits long enough for everyone to have made their way to the dining hall. Then she’s slipping out the back of the cabin and winding her way down around through the barely-used trails toward the north shore of the lake. She’s never walked this trail before, but Jennifer described the path well enough and Alyssa’s seen maps of the area so many times over the years, it should be easy.

It takes her about fifteen minutes of walking before she sees a clearing start to emerge up ahead. She can see why this place is so great for secret meetings. The north shore of the lake sort of narrows off into its own section of the forest, and the clearing is a little ways past that. She’s just pushing through the last little bit of brush when she hears something.

_ Music. _ No, not just music. A guitar… someone playing the guitar and singing. A voice she could recognize anywhere. A blissful smile takes over Alyssa’s features as she steps fully into the clearing and sees Emma lounging on Bessie’s tailgate, strumming away at the guitar in her lap and serenading the surrounding forest like she hasn’t a care in the world.

_ See I remember we were driving, driving in your car _ __  
_ The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk _ __  
_ City lights lay out before us _ __  
_ And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder _ __  
_ And I had a feeling that I belonged _ _  
_ __ I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

Alyssa slowly draws closer until she thinks she enters Emma’s periphery, not wanting to interrupt just yet. She  _ really _ loves hearing Emma play and sing. She always seems so free and happy then. Alyssa gives a soft, short round of applause, beaming at Emma when she turns to see her.

“Do you take requests?” Alyssa’s sure her dimples could be seen from space right now, she’s smiling so hard.

“Only from pretty girls like you.” Emma pulls her guitar strap up over her head and sets it aside. “Come here, you dork.” She holds out her hand for Alyssa to take.

“I’d argue with you about who’s the real dork, but you’ve just done maybe the most romantic thing in the history of ever so…” And then Alyssa is closing the distance to take Emma’s hand in hers, and they’re pulling each other close.

Emma rests her forehead against Alyssa’s. “God, I missed you.” She whispers and suddenly she’s kissing her, softly at first and then with more heat behind it. Alyssa’s fingers tangle in Emma’s hair, holding her there for several seconds before pulling back slightly to brush their noses together, sighing happily.

“I can’t believe you’re here. And you…” Alyssa looks behind Emma at her truck, slightly bewildered. “What is all this?” She had expected Emma, Bessie, and a pizza box, which honestly was more than enough. Not a truck bed full of pillows and blankets, a vanilla Yankee candle, an ice bucket with a couple bottles of sparkling cider, Emma’s phone in a speaker dock, and… yeah, there’s the pizza box.

“I had some time to plan on the way over.” Emma shrugs, but Alyssa can see a proud little smile forming.

“Well Miss Nolan, you certainly know how to treat a lady,” Alyssa purrs, looking up at Emma through her lashes as she hooks her index fingers in the belt loops of Emma’s khakis and tugs her forward a little. Emma looks as effortlessly lovely as ever in her denim button-down shirt with the sleeves partially rolled up, her always perfectly tousled hair, and those dreamy hazel eyes that never fail to give Alyssa butterflies.

“And you,” Emma leans in to whisper in Alyssa’s ear. “Sure know how to drive me crazy.” She plants a kiss below Alyssa’s ear and continues on, brushing along Alyssa’s jawline until she’s back to her lips. “Do you know that?”

“You’re one to talk,” Alyssa sighs breathlessly, leaning more fully into Emma as her knees go momentarily weak. “I’ve broken more camp rules in the past two days than I have in all the years I’ve come here combined.”

“Gee, I’d sure hate for you to get kicked out and have to come home early.”

“That would be perfect if they wouldn’t also tell my mom.”

The mention of Alyssa’s mother has Emma making a face before she turns to the truck bed. “Anyway, I got, uh, grape  _ and  _ apple sparkling cider because I wasn’t sure which you preferred. I know apple’s a classic, but I thought maybe grape would like… pair better with the pizza, and--” Emma’s nervous rambling is quite possibly the cutest thing Alyssa has seen in her entire life.

“Emma,” Alyssa cuts in softly. “It’s perfect. It’s perfect because you’re perfect and so are we. We can try  _ both _ ciders, and lucky for you, I remembered to bring my Swiss Army Knife!” She hops up into the bed of the truck, thankful for the copious amounts of cushioning now present as she climbs her way up towards the cab and leans back, getting comfortable. “Wow, did you just take every cushion and blanket in Betsy’s house?”

“Basically.” She climbs up to join Alyssa and opens the pizza box to reveal Alyssa’s favorite: Hawaiian, hold the pineapple. “Also, I’m pretty sure I’m dead when I get back because I sort of didn’t tell her I was coming here.” 

Both of Alyssa’s eyebrows shoot up at that statement as she stops messing with her Swiss Army Knife and the grape cider bottle. “Wow, babe. A romantic  _ and _ a rebel? You’re  _ really _ not playing fair.” She manages to pop the cork on the cider and gives a soft ‘whoop’ of victory.

“What can I say? I’m a multifaceted woman.” Emma reaches into a grocery bag next to the ice bucket and produces two plastic champagne flutes.

“Mmm. Is that your clever way of saying ‘heartthrob’ or something else?” Alyssa bites her lip as she scoots closer to Emma and begins to fill the champagne flutes.

“You said it, not me,” Emma says, her eyes focused solely on Alyssa’s lips as she takes one of the offered drinks. “I have a confession to make.”

“This isn’t a Catholic camp and I’m not a priest, but I can keep a secret. Cross my heart.” She reaches out to brush a lock of Emma’s hair away from her forehead, smiling and taking a sip of her own drink, her eyes never leaving Emma’s.

“I’m glad that things ended the way they did last night.”

There’s a weird half-choking, half-scoffing sound as Alyssa pauses mid-drink at that. “That’s… care to elaborate?”

“I- I don’t know. I guess it just feels more right, actually being here with you. Maybe it’s worth the embarrassment.” Emma smiles down at her hands wrapped around her glass. “Plus, you look  _ so  _ beautiful.”

If it’s possible, Alyssa’s gaze softens even more and she closes the rest of the distance between them so their sides are pressed together. She lifts her legs up and sprawls them across Emma’s, leaning her head on Emma’s shoulder as she pulls the giant pizza box into their laps. 

“You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, Emma,” Alyssa murmurs. “And thank you. I made sure to pick the best outfit I had for our date, even though I always feel beautiful with you, no matter what. Still… it’s awesome to know I made the right choice. And you,” she sighs and nuzzles into the crook between Emma’s neck and shoulder. “I can’t even begin to describe how gorgeous you are.” 

“I think these pants kinda make me look like a step-dad.” Emma chuckles to herself.

“Oh no,” Alyssa giggles. “Not a step-dad. I promise I’d tell you. There is much to be said about what khakis can do to accentuate someone’s butt, though. Not that you even need it.” She looks thoughtful for a second and then gives a wicked grin. “But I mean, if they bother you that much, you don’t have to keep them on that long.”

Emma seems to contemplate this statement much more seriously than she ought to before she’s kicking off her shoes and socks and reaching down to unbutton and unzip her pants, shimmying out of them and tossing them to the corner of the truck bed. “You’re right, this is much better.” She smiles and takes a piece of pizza, taking a big bite and ignoring Alyssa’s look of complete and utter shock.

Attempting to school her features into something less alarmed (and admittedly, aroused), Alyssa starts into her own slice of pizza, taking a calming breath through her nose as she chews. Once she swallows, she glances down and can’t help when her lips twitch into an amused smile at Emma’s  _ Supergirl _ briefs. “Nice undies, babe. Can’t tell from this angle, but I bet your ass looks  _ super _ in them too.”

Emma nods. “It does. I wore these just for you.” She takes another bite of pizza. “You know, this is just Canadian bacon.”

“Don’t try and bait me, Nolan. There’s no one to come save you out here,” Alyssa glares playfully. “Also, I’d totally join you in this no-pants party, buuut…” and she indicates her dress as if to explain the obvious. “Technically I’m already ahead of you there.”

“Still, if we’re being fair, I  _ did  _ remove a pretty substantial article of clothing.” Emma eyes the hem of Alyssa’s dress and looks up just a little higher. “I’d personally  _ love  _ to see what you’ve got on if you’re in a position to mock the Kara Zor-El summer collection.”

Alyssa blushes with genuine nervousness for the first time since climbing into the back of Bessie. She knows that Emma is flirting and mostly just teasing her, and would never ask her to do anything she was uncomfortable with. And, to be honest, Alyssa realizes that  _ she’s _ been the really forward one, especially the past couple of days. But it had mainly been just talk over the phone and hypotheticals. Now here she is in the back of her girlfriend’s (her currently pants-less girlfriend) truck and she’s realizing that…  _ Wow, she is probably going to have sex with Emma. For real. _

“But if you don’t want to, that’s okay, too,” Emma says quickly when she realizes Alyssa’s hesitation. “I don’t want you to think that we  _ have  _ to do anything.” She reaches over to take Alyssa’s hand in her own, bringing it up to kiss lightly. “It’s enough just being here with you.”

“How do you always know exactly the right thing to say?” Alyssa sighs in wonder, her eyes unable to leave Emma’s face. Yes, she is nervous, but very little of that nervousness has anything to do with Emma. Emma always makes her feel beautiful and wanted and, above all, so very loved. And Alyssa loves and wants her back, so very much.

Emma shrugs. “You make it easy, babe. Plus,” She sighs, “I just got game.” She holds a straight face even as Alyssa glares at her and simply reaches over to hit a button on the speaker dock and an unfamiliar song with a killer bassline plays softly.

“Hmm… well, I could argue that  _ I’ve _ got the most game. We’ve barely started our pizza and I already have you out of your pants,” Alyssa holds her head up proudly, taking a purposeful bite of her slice of pizza. She may be feigning annoyance, but this is just another reason why loving Emma is so easy. There’s hardly ever any pressure for Alyssa to be anyone other than herself, or do anything she doesn’t want to do.

“Well, somebody’s sure cocky. What if I just didn’t want to be wearing my church pants in this heat?” Emma gestures around them, her straight face breaking after a moment into that dreamy smile of hers that drives Alyssa crazy.

“I’m not totally sure, but I think there are multiple levels of irony in the fact that you, someone who does not attend church anymore, wore your church pants to sneak into a church camp for a tryst with your lesbian girlfriend. Should we call the Guinness people to see if it’s a record or something?” Alyssa giggles.

“I wasn’t about to wear jeans with this shirt. Some lesbians can rock denim on denim, but I’m not one of them. Besides, you oughta know about the endless versatility of the khakis, Jake from State Farm.”

Alyssa is just washing down the last of her pizza with a large drink of cider when Emma says this, and suddenly she’s snorting and coughing. Her eyes start watering and she’s gasping for breath, but underneath it all she’s shaking with laughter. “Y-you… are…  _ evil! _ ”

Emma doesn’t say anything, just smiles with chipmunk cheeks as she finishes her own pizza in one overly large bite. Sensing the perfect opportunity for revenge, Alyssa quickly reaches into her bag and grabs the little plastic monstrosity within and hoists it up for Emma to behold. “You’re a terrible influence on our son, you know! You should apologize.”

Emma has to look away and force down the bite before she can look back at Emmett, bursting into laughter that would have surely caused her to choke to death if she hadn’t taken precautions. “What the  _ hell  _ is that thing?”

“What’s the matter, sweetums? Don’t you recognize your own kid? He has your eyes.” He doesn’t. Little Emmett’s eyes are beady and vacant and, frankly, creepy as hell. But Alyssa is an overachiever, even when it comes to jokes and revenge.

“Oh my good lord, if I knew this was what they were putting you through at this camp, I would have come and rescued you weeks ago.” Emma reaches for Emmett and holds him out at arm’s length, wincing at its ‘realistic’ face. “He kinda looks like your mother, though.”

“Hey!” Alyssa exclaims and smacks Emma’s arm playfully. “That’s rude. He doesn’t make  _ nearly _ as much noise as my mother, and his crap is a lot more straightforward to deal with.”

“Oh my god, this thing shits?” Emma turns it around to look at the diapered butt in abject horror.

“No, you dingus! I’m just freakin’ hilarious! He has some internal mechanism that has him go off for feeding and changing and whatever at certain times, and you have to deal with it appropriately. It records how well you respond and handle everything, and the teacher downloads the data to a computer. It’s just one of the classes they offer here. It’s not all about babies, but it’s a part of it.” 

“Well, if they’re looking to deter the good Christian girls from getting pregnant, I think this will do it.” She turns it over in her hands. “Besides, our kids would be  _ way  _ cuter than this thing.”

An excited swarm of butterflies make themselves known in Alyssa’s stomach at that comment. She reaches out and takes Emmett back from Emma, maybe a little too forcefully. “ _ Our _ kids? You… you think about us having kids?”

Emma clears her throat. “I mean yeah, like… way,  _ way  _ down the road, maybe, if you would want that…”

Alyssa blushes and chews her lip thoughtfully as she moves to put Emmett away. “I think that’s… yeah, with you, I think that’s definitely a possibility in the future.” She’s trying to awkwardly maneuver the ungainly project back into her bag when the strip of condoms slides out. “Oh… well, shit.”

“Uh, babe,” Emma makes a confused face. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I couldn’t get you pregnant right now even if I wanted to.”

Chuckling nervously, Alyssa shoves the items back into her bag. “Believe me, I’m aware. My bunkmate Jennifer - the one who told me about this place - she just wanted to make sure Emmett Sr. and I were extra careful. She’s actually really cool. I just didn’t tell her that… well, that there’s no way I could get pregnant tonight.”

“I could always give it a valiant effort, though.” Emma waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m sure you would,” Alyssa smirks. “You’re off to a good start already. No pants and all that.” They hold each other’s gaze for several seconds, the tension clearly back. Suddenly, Alyssa remembers something. “Oh! I almost forgot. I promised dessert.” She reaches back into her bag and pulls out the Hershey bar she liberated the day before. It’s kind of mushy now because of the heat, but it’s  _ chocolate _ , so who cares? “Tada!”

“You meant that literally.” Emma sounds only slightly disappointed.

“Of course.” Alyssa gives her a faux-innocent look and then she’s waggling her own eyebrows. “I couldn’t actually bring a hot fudge sundae out here. This chocolate is melted enough as it is.” She crawls back over to Emma, shifting around to sit sideways across her lap like they’ve done so many times before in the band closet. “Is this okay? Your pump’s all good, right?”

Emma quickly glances down at her abdomen as if this hadn’t even been a concern of hers until this very moment. “Uh, yeah. It should be fine.”

“Great! Ugh, finding this yesterday when I was stealing my phone back was the best bonus ever. I can’t even remember the last time I had chocolate,” Alyssa rambles as she very carefully begins unwrapping the partially melted chocolate bar. She breaks off a small piece and pops it into her mouth, almost moaning as it melts on her tongue. Not even thinking about it, she sucks the smears of candy off the tips of her fingers before holding the bar out to Emma.

Emma looks like she contemplates it a moment before leaning in and taking a bite straight from the bar, having zero regard for square boundaries. “Mmm.” She hums, pulling back, and Alyssa can’t help but laugh at the mess Emma has made of her face. The consistency of the chocolate is definitely a benefit in this scenario.

“Okay, first of all… rude. Secondly, you’ve got a little something right…” Alyssa reaches up like she’s about to point to a specific place, but then she’s getting that look in her eyes and grinning in that way that means the absolute best kind of trouble. 

She leans in and lightly licks just above Emma’s upper lip, and then to the side. She kisses the tip of Emma’s nose and giggles before licking the chocolate from there as well. The last places she cleans are Emma’s chin and up to the corner of her mouth, where she flicks her tongue out a lot more slowly than before and sucks on Emma’s lower lip for several seconds longer than necessary, letting it go with a soft  _ pop _ . “There. I forgot how amazing that tastes.” She pauses for effect and winks. “The chocolate’s good, too.”

Emma is hyperfocused on Alyssa’s every move, her mouth slightly agape as she sits there speechless for a moment before she’s reaching for another bite of chocolate, her fingers going right through a particularly soft part.

She brings her fingers up to her lips only for Alyssa to grab her hand.

“Careful,” Alyssa murmurs. “This is really messy and that’s one of my favorite shirts on you.” She blinks slowly and then seems to make a decision. “Here, let me help.” Alyssa can tell by the look on Emma’s face that the last thing she expects is Alyssa leaning in and enveloping one of her fingers between her lips. 

Honestly, she could have just given Emma a napkin or even suggested removing her shirt, but the chocolate is delicious and, more importantly, so is Emma. She sucks gently, using her tongue to get every last trace of chocolate off the digit before reluctantly slipping Emma’s finger from her mouth.

Emma lets out a guttural moan and looks at Alyssa like she wants to devour her much more than the chocolate. And then she’s pulling Alyssa in by the back of the head, hand tangled in her hair and kissing her messily on the mouth. “You taste like a coma,” Emma huffs a quiet laugh, taking a breath and going back in for more.

“Only you could make a line like that work, baby,” Alyssa breathes against Emma’s mouth, nipping at her lower lip and tugging gently. “Wanna know what you taste like?”

“What?” Emma asks, moving down to kiss and suck at Alyssa’s neck.

Alyssa gasps and threads the fingers of one hand through Emma’s hair, moving her head to the side so she, too, can have access to Emma’s neck. She kisses by Emma’s ear, her breath hot as she whispers, “Heaven. Everything about you is like Heaven, Emma. Not sin. Just… Heaven.” 

As soon as she’s said it, something inside Alyssa shifts. She hadn’t even meant to say something that profound… she was honestly just trying to be sexy yet sincere. But everything about being with Emma feels right. She remembers the way she felt the day before, and the way she wished she could somehow make people understand how wrong it feels with guys, but how everything with Emma is natural to her. Emma makes her feel every single thing people say you’re supposed to feel when you’re in love, so there’s no way that can be wrong or sinful.

Emma bites her lip and looks down, her cheeks turning bright pink. “I mean, I don’t think I’m all that…”

Alyssa pulls back slightly to gently cradle Emma’s face in her hands, her eyes misty as she tries to get Emma to meet them. “You are, though, Emma. And if you don’t believe it, just know that I do. With all my heart.” Then she’s closing the gap again, kissing Emma with all the fierceness of newly discovered love as she rises up a little to readjust her position so that she’s straddling Emma.

Emma makes a high pitched strangled sound in the back of her throat, pulling back somewhat reluctantly. “Whoa.”

Alyssa’s eyes get wide for a second and one hand comes up to her mouth self-consciously. “Oh my god, I’m sorry… did I say something wrong? Did I hurt you?”

Emma sounds out of breath. “No, I just… wasn’t expecting that.”

“Expecting… what, exactly?” 

Emma gestures broadly to their position right now. “Not that I’m complaining,” She smiles impishly and her hands go to Alyssa’s hips. “I like this side of you.”

A delightful shiver runs through Alyssa at the feeling of Emma’s hands on her hips. She presses her upper body a little closer, sliding one arm around Emma’s shoulder and neck while her other hand strokes along Emma’s jaw and down to trace her bottom lip with her thumb. “What side is that?”

“Free, I guess?” Emma smiles. “I really like it.”

“Me too,” Alyssa smiles back, her cheek dimpling. She rests her forehead against Emma’s, continuing to caress her face softly. “You’re the only person I feel truly free with.

“I love you so much, Alyssa.” Emma says softly, and Alyssa thinks she can see her eyes well up behind her glasses.

Alyssa uses her thumb to wipe away an escaping tear, brushing her nose against Emma’s tenderly. She’s not sure how her heart can feel both so full and so light at the same time. “I love you too, Emma. More than anything.”

And then Emma’s kissing her, and it’s unlike anything they’ve ever done before. There’s been passion, sure, but Emma’s kissing her as if her life might depend on it and at this point, Alyssa understands completely. Her surprised gasp is followed by a deep hum of approval, and both are lost in Emma’s kisses.

“I never knew I could feel this way.” Emma gasps.

“In love?” Alyssa asks when she pauses for breath.

“Completely devoted with all of myself, to you. Only you.” There’s nothing but sureness and sincerity in Emma’s voice, despite the weighty declaration.

The implication of those words sink into Alyssa’s brain and she draws in a shaky breath.  _ All of herself _ . Alyssa wants that, too. She is Emma’s, just as Emma is hers. Saying the next words is both the easiest and scariest thing in the world, even though she realizes this is where they’d been heading all along. Looking into Emma’s eyes, her hands still soft on Emma’s face, Alyssa whispers, “Make love to me, Emma.” She hopes it doesn’t sound corny, or clich é d, but no other words better encapsulate everything she feels and wants in this moment. 

Alyssa can see a look of surprise flash in Emma’s eyes, but it fades away quickly into a look of pure hunger. “Okay,” she whispers hoarsely, kissing Alyssa again and moving her hands around to her backside, pulling her closer. 

A thrill shoots through Alyssa at Emma’s intense, immediate response. Her hips instinctively rock forward in Emma’s lap, and the motion, along with Emma’s hands, reminds her of their earlier conversation.

She reluctantly breaks their kiss, loving the way Emma whines softly in protest and chases her lips. “I guess maybe now we can make things a little more even?” And she reaches down to grasp the hem of her dress in both hands, slowly pulling it up her thighs to rest at her hips, keeping track of Emma’s expression as she does so. “I know they’re not Supergirl or anything, but you can give your honest opinion.”

Upon seeing the pink lace boyshorts Alyssa had decided on earlier, Emma’s eyes go a little wide. “Those are,” She pauses, swallowing hard. “Definitely not comic-themed.” She looks up to meet Alyssa’s gaze. “Victoria’s Secret?”

Alyssa nods slowly, a happy blush spreading across her skin. “Do you like them? I…” She runs her fingers along the material at the waistband. “... should I? Or would you like to?”

Emma’s fingers automatically move up to hook inside the top of them, inching them down slowly, though Alyssa can feel her hands trembling. “I love them,” Emma finally answers as Alyssa assists her in lifting her hips a little so that Emma can slip them further down her legs. Alyssa kicks them the rest of the way off and drops the garment off to the side, hiking her dress up a little more and settling back down on Emma’s lap.

Emma seems like she wants to say  _ something,  _ but words are failing her, so all she does is shift her legs so that her thigh is between Alyssa’s legs. Alyssa holds eye contact with Emma as she presses herself more firmly against her, and honestly, Alyssa isn’t prepared for something so simple as Emma’s smooth, hot skin pressed against her own to completely glitch her brain. She knew she was wet already - she’d been in a constant state of arousal the past few days, and Emma’s kisses and touches had only made those feelings skyrocket - but she wasn’t fully cognizant of it until now as she feels herself slick against Emma’s thigh.

“Oh my god, you’re so wet,” Emma groans, her voice thick with desire and something like wonder, and pushes her thigh up against Alyssa with purpose. 

Alyssa whines and moves her hips experimentally, burying her face in the space between Emma’s neck and shoulder, her hands clinging to Emma’s shirt.

“Is that good, baby?” Emma asks, leaning her head back and urging Alyssa to look in her eyes. It takes Alyssa a second to focus, but when her gaze finally locks onto Emma’s, she’s sure she looks as desperate as she feels. Emma’s looking back at her with a ravenous expression, and Alyssa’s pretty sure that look will wreck her.

She nods, licking her lips and humming her approval as she leans back into Emma, this time their faces close enough to share breath. “Mmhmm. I just…” she gasps softly as she shifts her weight again. “I didn’t expect so little to be s-so much.”

“God, you’re so pretty like this,” Emma whispers, smiling to herself and leaning in to kiss Alyssa, her tongue parting her lips. This is met with a hungry moan, and then Alyssa is coaxing Emma’s tongue deeper into her mouth, sucking almost greedily. One of Alyssa’s hands starts tugging mindlessly at the top buttons of Emma’s shirt, while the other is scraping blunt nails up Emma’s neck and into her hair. She’s moving her hips a little more confidently now, establishing a rhythm against Emma’s upper thigh.

After Alyssa’s about halfway through with Emma’s buttons, she realizes something. Emma’s hands are relatively… calm. Besides grasping Alyssa’s hips and ass, they haven’t really moved much. As loathe as she is to tear her lips from Emma’s, Alyssa pulls back a little to study Emma. “You can… you can touch me if you want to, Emma. I want you to. I want... ” she moans breathily as her hips grind again. “I want  _ you _ .”

Emma’s wastes no time as her right hand snakes from Alyssa’s ass around to reach up under her dress. “Like this?” She asks, her fingers searching for Alyssa’s clit and finding it with relative ease after a few seconds, eyes never leaving Alyssa’s face as she drinks in her every reaction.

“Oh, fuck!” Alyssa gasps, the hand that is in Emma’s hair coming to her mouth to stifle the noise by biting her knuckles. She whimpers softly, breathing through her nose as she tries to steady herself, but she nods her head vigorously. “Yes, Emma… god, that feels…”

Emma reaches for Alyssa’s hand with her free one, pulling it away from her mouth. “No, baby. I wanna hear you.” She kisses Alyssa’s hand while her other one picks up the pace of her fingers on Alyssa’s clit in a steady back and forth motion.

“Emma,” Alyssa sighs and moans her name and it’s like a prayer and a naughty secret all at once. She rolls her hips with more certainty against Emma’s insistent fingers, burying her face in Emma’s neck again, but this time to lavish it with attention from her lips, teeth, and tongue.

“I love you so much, Alyssa.” Emma sighs, and then gasps as Alyssa sucks on a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. 

Alyssa hums in approval at Emma’s response, “I love you too, baby.” Her hands have finally managed to undo the last button on Emma’s shirt and tug it down enough to reach more skin with her hungry lips, starting at Emma’s shoulder, sucking again and leaving a trail up to her ear. “Emma?” she asks breathily.

“Uh huh?” Emma asks, her voice higher than normal but her fingers not letting up.

“Mmmm,” Alyssa purrs, “You feel so fucking good, Emma… I-” she gasps as Emma’s fingers rub against her just perfectly. “I want...” Alyssa moves so that her forehead is resting against Emma’s, looking at her as she reaches down to gently but firmly cover Emma’s hand with hers. Her fingers slip easily into the spaces between Emma’s and she urges Emma’s hand a little lower. “I want you inside me, Em. Please.”

Emma focuses on nothing but Alyssa’s eyes as she finds Alyssa’s entrance with one finger. She hesitates only a second before she enters her slowly. “Is that okay?”

Alyssa groans and squeezes her eyes shut for a second, her body quivering around Emma’s tentative finger, an ache of anticipation deep in her core. It is so much more than okay, but Alyssa’s been turned on for days, and her inexperience is making her impatient. When her eyes flutter back open, they’re dark and earnest. “Emma, literally everything you’re doing is perfect. I promise I’ll tell you if I don’t like something. But please… just fuck me.” 

Alyssa’s bluntness has Emma frozen for a second before she gets a determined look on her face, and with little warning, she’s withdrawing her finger, earning a desperate whimper from Alyssa that turns into a yelp as she’s being flipped over onto her back, her head hitting one of the conveniently-placed pillows. “So needy,” Emma grumbles as if put out by it all, but she’s smiling wickedly. Then she’s leaning down to kiss Alyssa while fully shrugging her shirt off of her shoulders and reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra.

Breathless and excited by Emma’s boldness, Alyssa quickly works on getting out of her dress, eyes never leaving Emma’s body as new parts of it are finally revealed to her. She’s so beautiful and she looks so soft. Alyssa can’t wait to explore every inch of her. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t be so needy if I didn’t have such a ridiculously hot girlfriend who doesn’t even know she’s the worst kind of tease,” Alyssa quips.

“Takes one to know one.” Emma bites Alyssa’s lip in playful admonishment, and then she’s gently spreading Alyssa’s legs apart and positioning herself between them. “Jesus, you’re so gorgeous, Alyssa. You should never wear clothes,” She says in awe, kissing a hot trail across Alyssa’s neck and collarbone while one hand works its way up from her stomach to her breasts, and the other finds its way back between her thighs.

“Aww and here I thought you were a fan of my choice of underwear…” Alyssa arches up eagerly into her touch as she strokes her hands down Emma’s back to her ass, slipping inside Emma’s underwear and squeezing playfully.

Emma pulls her hands back from Alyssa momentarily to pull off her briefs, her sheepish face looking like maybe she’d actually forgotten that step, and then she’s tossing them haphazardly and resuming her position. “I’m a big fan of you in general. Just the less clothes, the better.” Her fingers are finding Alyssa’s entrance again, the first slipping inside and pulling most of the way out before going back again, getting something of a rhythm going before Emma’s adding a second finger and curling them toward herself.

“Jesus, Emma!” Alyssa cries out, and her entire body is arching up into Emma’s touch.  _ Where the hell did Emma learn to do that with her fingers?  _ Every curl and flick of Emma’s fingers has Alyssa’s hips moving in tandem with them and it takes considerable effort for Alyssa to lift her head from where it’s shamelessly thrown back amongst the pillows. Her hands grasp at Emma’s shoulders as she looks down between them, her head almost falling back again as she watches what Emma is doing to her. Between a litany of gasps and growls, she manages to get out, “I told you I -  _ fuck  _ \- I told you I love your hands, Em…”

“You like that, Baby?” Emma asks, and then a devilish look appears on her face. She pauses for a moment, and Alyssa’s about to either cry or growl with frustration, but then Emma is resituating herself and moving again with renewed purpose, thrusting her hips in time against her hand for more leverage, angling her fingers deeper.

“ _ God, yes! _ ” Alyssa moans wildly, and suddenly her legs have wrapped themselves around Emma, every part of her clutching to pull Emma ever closer. Feeling Emma inside her is even better than she imagined, and she never dreamed of how intoxicating it would be to feel Emma flush against her as she works those perfect fingers deeper inside Alyssa than she even thought possible.

Emma’s mouth is showering kisses across Alyssa’s chest, her lips, tongue, and teeth giving attention to whichever breast her free hand isn’t currently praising. Every place Emma is touching her, Alyssa feels like her nerves are on a livewire. And it feels like Emma is  _ everywhere _ . The tightness is starting to coil low in her belly, and her leg muscles are trembling even as they keep their grip firmly around Emma.

“Do you think you can come for me, baby?” Emma’s thumb has started rubbing fast circles around Alyssa’s clit. “C’mon Alyssa, I know you can come for me. You’re doing so good, baby. Fuck, you’re so perfect, Lys.” Her pace inside Alyssa hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. If anything, it’s only gotten more intense as she’s been able to sense Alyssa getting close. That, combined with the attention to her clit and Emma’s praise, has Alyssa’s blunt nails raking down Emma’s back as she begins to fall apart in Emma’s hands.

Alyssa’s awareness fades except for every place in which she and Emma are touching, and then it’s all just overwhelming sensation. She clenches deliciously around Emma’s fingers and shudders as the now-familiar pressure that’s been building within her releases all at once, waves of pleasure radiating from what seems like Emma’s fingertips and through her throbbing clit. Head thrown back, she cries out Emma’s name into the night and revels in the feelings that flow through her. Ecstasy, freedom, love…  _ Emma.  _ Emma is all of that and more. She is everything.

All the while, Emma watches Alyssa come, completely enraptured. She kisses her sweetly, breaking away only to whisper, “I love you so much.” She pulls her fingers out slowly as her left hand comes up to wipe away tears Alyssa didn’t realize have begun to stream down her face. “Was that okay, baby? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” There’s a slight degree of whispered panic in Emma’s voice as she shifts her weight off of Alyssa.

Immediately, Alyssa’s hands are reaching for Emma and keeping her close, one hand tangling in her hair gently so she can massage her scalp soothingly with her fingertips. She leans up to press kisses all across Emma’s face, sighing happily. “I love you too, baby. And Emma that was so much more than okay. You just…” She giggles a bit breathlessly and bites her lip. It’s not so much that she’s suddenly shy as that she can’t believe she can finally say this. “You just made me come  _ so _ hard. You’re so damn sexy, Emma.”

Emma smiles to herself, maybe just a little smug as she rolls over to lie next to Alyssa, bringing her right hand up to her mouth and licking her fingers clean. “I tried,” She says, shrugging before the facade falls apart and she’s giggling a little breathlessly. “You were… just wow, Lys. That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” Her other hand comes up to remove her very fogged up glasses and set them aside.

Several thoughts go through Alyssa’s brain in a matter of seconds. She’s about to pretend to be irritated at Emma’s cockiness, but then Emma’s dropping the act and saying  _ that _ . Mainly Alyssa’s eyes have zeroed in on Emma’s mouth and fingers, and suddenly Alyssa is surging forward and kissing her, her tongue immediately flicking against Emma’s lips and then darting inside to taste herself in Emma’s mouth.

“Wow,” Alyssa mumbles between deep, languid kisses. “You were right. I  _ do _ taste good.” She shifts so her body is pressed completely against Emma’s, her hand cradling Emma’s jaw as she kisses her again, not even bothering to act coy about what she’s doing. “Is it as good as you thought?”

“Better.  _ So  _ much better.”

“Mmm, good, I’m glad,” Alyssa catches Emma’s lower lip with her teeth and nips teasingly. She’s trailing the fingers of one hand up and down Emma’s side, and just starting to let them wander inward to the underside of one of Emma’s breasts. “You know… you’re welcome to that whenever you like.

“Whenever, huh?” Emma looks like she is seriously excited for this prospect. “Liiike… right now?”

“Well, all things being equal… no, not right this very second. Because right now I’m dying to see if  _ you _ taste as good as  _ I _ think. Any objections?”

Emma swallows hard and shakes her head furiously. “No. None.”

“Thank God,” Alyssa groans dramatically, and then she’s pressing Emma fully onto her back and straddling her again. She sits up for a second and rakes the hair out of her face, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of Emma finally naked beneath her as Emma looks back up at her in wide-eyed amazement.

Emma is so undeniably, effortlessly beautiful that it makes Alyssa’s heart ache. And that’s Emma fully clothed. As Alyssa’s eyes travel across the soft, creamy expanse of Emma’s skin, she feels so much pride at being the only person who gets to see Emma like this, and also a slight twinge of sadness and anger that no one else ever takes the time to notice what is so obvious to her. Emma is beautiful and she deserves to know it and feel it all the time, and in every way Alyssa can, she is going to make that happen.

“I love you so much, Emma,” Alyssa sighs wistfully, leaning down to kiss Emma in a way that’s equal parts tender and passionate, both of her hands finding Emma’s and lacing their fingers together. Then she’s kissing along Emma’s jawline and down to her ear, nuzzling behind it and nipping softly. “You are so fucking beautiful. Do you know that?”

_ “You’re  _ beautiful. I’m… me.” Emma looks away, but can undoubtedly feel Alyssa’s gaze never leave her.

Alyssa places a finger on Emma’s chin, urging her to look at her. “Hey, look at me. Yes, you’re  _ you _ . And  _ you _ are gorgeous. Do you remember what you did to me earlier? How wet you made me? How you made me scream your name? Emma, no one else can do that. No one else even comes close.”

Emma finally turns her head back to meet Alyssa’s gaze, her eyes a little misty but she forces a smile. “And nobody else ever  _ will, _ if I have any say.”

Alyssa knows Emma is trying to deflect, but she feels a thrill at Emma’s possessiveness all the same and meets Emma’s smile with one of her own. “I guess I’ll have to show you, then.” She shifts her position again, this time fully pressing herself into Emma, their bodies flush. She can’t help the sound of pleasure and contentment that bubbles up at how incredible Emma feels against her. “See how perfectly we fit together?”

“We do, don’t we?” Emma agrees, voice thick with what is probably the same thing Alyssa feels at how intimately they’re entwined, and she leans up to kiss Alyssa again. Alyssa returns it fiercely, needing Emma to see how badly she wants her and how irresistible she is in every way. She is torn between tenderness and a voracious need to devour Emma, and the only thing she can think to do is go for broke.

“Let me know if anything is too much, okay?” she mumbles against Emma’s mouth, pressing a last kiss to those perfect lips and meeting Emma’s eyes for confirmation, to which Emma nods.

Alyssa brushes a few soft kisses along the flawless line of Emma’s jaw and then she’s moving down to the column of her throat to plant hot, open-mouthed kisses on the pale skin. Alyssa loves Emma’s skin… it’s soft and smooth and bright. But right now, she thinks it would look even better bearing the marks of her lips and teeth. With that thought, she’s suddenly sucking the skin near Emma’s pulse point and Emma’s letting out a soft whimper as her hands come up to bury themselves in Alyssa’s curls.

“You’re- ah— you’re going to get me in so much trouble.”

Alyssa can’t help but smile against Emma’s neck. “Mmm, good. I like the reminder that you’re mine. Plus, you said you’re already in trouble, anyway. Might need more to remember me by…” She says this as her mouth hits the skin below Emma’s collarbone, already working on another mark.

Meanwhile, Alyssa finally allows her hands to do what they’ve wanted to do for what seems like forever, and she’s cupping Emma’s breasts without any kind of barrier between them. Her moan echoes Emma’s own against her chest at this. Emma never really wears revealing clothing, so their handsy makeout sessions are the only reason Alyssa knew before now that Emma has incredible boobs. None of that compares to this, though. 

“Wow, Emma,” Alyssa breathes, pulling back just enough to admire her. “You’re so…” She trails off, not quite sure how to word what she wants to express. So she leans back down to pepper a few soft kisses to the tops of Emma’s breasts and then she’s closing her lips around one of her nipples and swirling her tongue around the peak before sucking it into her mouth. Her hand continues to massage Emma’s other breast and roll the nipple between her fingers, occasionally tugging and eliciting a gasp from Emma.

“Jesus, Lys, are you trying to kill me?” Emma squirms beneath her. Alyssa chuckles and looks up at her through her lashes as she moves to give Emma’s other breast the same attention.

“No, baby. I’ve just been wanting this… wanting  _ you _ so badly and I wanna enjoy it. You’re so soft and so, so pretty Emma,” Alyssa murmurs hotly against Emma’s skin.

“If I’d known it would be like this, I never would have let you leave for this stupid camp,” Emma growls, gasping as Alyssa’s tongue flicks across her nipple.

Alyssa huffs a soft laugh in response as she grazes her teeth across Emma’s breast experimentally, drawing another sound from Emma, slightly higher in pitch this time. “God, you sound even sexier in person when you do that.”

“‘Cause you feel  _ incredible,  _ babe.” Emma sighs contentedly.

“So do you, baby.” Alyssa adjusts her legs and slips one of them between Emma’s as her mouth continues to traverse the length of Emma’s torso, occasionally leaving another blooming purple reminder of tonight on the smooth skin of her chest and stomach. She reaches down to grasp under one of Emma’s thighs, lifting it so Emma’s leg is hooked around her hip as she rocks forward a little.

Emma grunts, her hips twitching upward to meet Alyssa’s. “Oh, fuck,” She gasps to herself, her hands grasping at whatever part of Alyssa they can get, her eyes screwed shut.

A happy moan vibrates deep in Alyssa’s chest as she feels Emma grab her and move against her. She’s almost tempted to stay put and try to make Emma come this way, but then she feels the muscles of Emma’s stomach jump under her tongue as she licks a teasing circle around her navel and she’s more determined than ever to finish what she set out to do. 

The hand that’s still grasping Emma’s thigh shifts its position to the inside, and then Alyssa is shifting her own position downward until the leg that was once around her hip is draped over her shoulder. She kisses lower on Emma’s stomach, stopping for a moment when she notices Emma’s hips buck especially hard as Alyssa’s mouth passes near the place between her thigh and hip bone.

She looks up to see Emma watching her with dark eyes, her pink, perfect lips parted and her chest heaving. Alyssa thinks she’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, and she wonders if the sight of Emma finally letting go for her would be even better. She decides to find out, so she replaces her mouth on the same spot where she’d left off and sucks  _ hard _ , then as gently as she can, sinks her teeth into the skin.

“Oh!” Emma yelps, clearly not having anticipated that but not objecting to it, either.

“Sorry! I’m so - did I - was that too much?” Alyssa looks up, worried.

“Stop apologizing. It’s fine, baby. I  _ really  _ liked it. Just… D-don’t stop there, please,” Emma practically begs, desperation as clear in her voice as it is on her face. Her hand comes down to take hold of Alyssa’s hair close to the root, tugging just hard enough for some delicious pressure that Alyssa didn’t even know she was into until just now.

Alyssa whimpers softly, her eyes fluttering just briefly at the slight tug to her hair and the direction Emma is tugging her in. She holds Emma’s heated gaze for a few seconds before letting herself be led downward. Stroking her hands along the supple length of Emma’s thighs, she turns her head to pamper the alluring expanse of skin with various kisses and soft little love bites.

As she gets closer to the juncture of Emma’s thighs, Alyssa’s breathing deepens along with Emma’s. God, she wants this, and she hopes she’s good at it because all she wants is to make Emma feel as amazing as she made her feel. Emma deserves the world and more. 

“Lys,” Emma’s voice draws Alyssa’s attention up to meet her eyes. “It’s okay.” She reassures Alyssa as she notices her slight hesitation. Alyssa nods, her eyes turning back to drink in the sight in front of her. She doesn’t even bother trying to hold back another whimper before she’s instinctively leaning forward and tasting Emma for the first time. 

She starts with an almost too-light brush of her tongue, and then she’s slipping it through Emma’s folds with more purpose, starting lower near her entrance and sweeping up towards her clit. All Alyssa’s brain can process is how  _ wet _ Emma is, how  _ good _ she tastes, and the way her hands suddenly tighten their grip in Alyssa’s hair. That, and Emma starts making noises that are positively filthy, and the ache between Alyssa’s own legs returns with a vengeance.

“God, that feels so-” Emma cuts herself off with a high-pitched whine from deep within her and a buck of her hips as Alyssa’s tongue traces small patterns on her clit with some boosted confidence.

Alyssa reaches beneath Emma, holding her in place with a firm grip on her backside as her tongue darts back down to indulge in another, deeper taste of Emma. “Fuck Emma,” Alyssa groans against her. “You  _ do _ taste like Heaven.”

Emma can’t stifle a giggle at that. “I’m glad you like it.” The giggle is immediately followed by a borderline pornographic moan as Alyssa dips her tongue inside, curling a little before withdrawing and gliding upward to flick against Emma’s clit again.

“I love it,” Alyssa pants, an idea forming through the haze of arousal in her brain. She wants to focus on Emma’s clit, but there’s no way she is willing to pass up more of the sound Emma just made. Plus, she hasn’t been able to get the thought of being inside Emma out of her head since a few nights ago in her bunk.

Removing one of her hands from its place on Emma’s ass, Alyssa finds Emma’s entrance with her longest finger and slips inside her slowly, her ears and eyes tuned in for Emma’s reaction.

“Ohhh my god,” Emma groans, her thighs squeezing tight on either side of Alyssa’s head. Her hips jerk to meet Alyssa’s finger, and Alyssa has to adjust her hold to press down firmly on Emma’s hips. She slides her finger out and then she’s adding another, thrusting in a similar manner to how Emma did earlier, curling her fingers. “Jesus, you feel s-so fucking good.” Emma manages to force out in one shuddering breath.

_ You’re the one who feels fucking amazing.  _ Alyssa thinks it, but she doesn’t say it because she’s busy doubling her tongue’s efforts on Emma’s clit, drawing tight circles around it before drawing it between her lips and sucking. She thinks Emma is close if the trembling of her thighs and the increasing pitch of her moans are any indication. And  _ god _ , if the feeling of Emma hot and wet and clenching desperately around her fingers isn’t the holiest thing she’s ever experienced.

When Alyssa really thinks about it, she’s fallen in love with Emma several times over the course of the past year or so. The Thanksgiving assembly, the first time she stayed out to the last minute of her curfew just riding around town in Bessie with the radio blaring, their first kiss under a street light around the block from her house… but this, experiencing Emma come completely undone around her and  _ for her  _ is unlike all the rest. When Emma said she was devoted with all of herself, she wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest. Emma is Alyssa’s, completely and irrevocably, and that much is obvious.

“Fuck, Alyssa!” She sobs wildly, one hand clutching at the blankets and the other still fisted in Alyssa’s hair. Alyssa can feel all of Emma’s muscles seize up and then she’s shuddering and letting out a series of breathtaking whimpers and moans as she rides out the waves of her orgasm on Alyssa’s fingers and tongue. Alyssa’s able to lift her head in time to see what is  _ definitely _ the most beautiful thing in the world. And that’s Emma with her head thrown back, hair mussed, and body marked with Alyssa’s kisses as she cries out her name.

Emma takes deep breaths as she comes down from her high until she makes eye contact with Alyssa, still watching her completely enraptured, and a reassuring smile crosses her face. “Baby, that was… wow.”

Alyssa grins back up at her, pride filling her chest along with an unending tenderness. “You were pretty ‘wow’ yourself, Em.” She scoots up a little and rests her chin on Emma’s stomach, tracing patterns along the curve of Emma’s hip and waist with her fingertips. “I’m pretty sure I just fell in love with you all over again.”

“Come here, baby.” Emma gestures for Alyssa to move up to lie down beside her. Alyssa obliges happily, crawling up and snuggling into Emma’s side and throwing a leg across her midsection to maintain even more closeness. She nuzzles her face close to Emma’s and leans in for a kiss. “I don’t think I could possibly love you any more than I do right now,” Emma whispers before kissing her hard.

She kisses Emma back thoroughly, humming in content as she tastes both of them in their kiss. Then she’s sighing against Emma’s lips, “I think that every single time and then I still fall harder the next time you do something to make me smile.”

“Ya big softie,” Emma teases, kissing the tip of Alyssa’s nose before leaning up to grab the unopened bottle of apple sparkling cider and cracking it open with Alyssa’s Swiss Army Knife before taking a swig straight from the bottle and offering it to her.

Alyssa can’t help but laugh as some of the cider sloshes everywhere, Emma yelping and looking slightly bashful about it, and Alyssa thinks that only Emma could make something that should be awkward and embarrassing so charming. “Yeah, a little. Just don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold. You know, cheerleaders and all that… “ Alyssa pulls a face and then she’s laughing again.

“Oh sure, you’re a real queen bee bitch,” Emma scoffs playfully and disentangles herself from Alyssa with only a little sound of protest so that she can sit up fully against the truck cab. She pulls a roll of paper towels from the grocery bag and makes quick work of wiping the cider off before tearing off another and handing it to Alyssa.

“It’s not  _ my  _ fault if a gorgeous, sensitive musician type swept in and made me see the light.” Alyssa pokes her tongue out from between her teeth and helps wipe up. 

She wishes it could always be like this. Just her and Emma being completely themselves. Not necessarily naked, although she doesn’t think either of them would be complaining about that part. She’s just letting her eyes rake over Emma’s form again when she notices that the night is quiet… the music has stopped playing on Emma’s phone.

Emma notices the same thing. “Too bad the sensitive musician type didn’t have more time to make a playlist,” She smiles sheepishly as she picks up her phone from the dock and starts looking through it. “I might have some Tegan and Sara on here?”

“I’m afraid to ask if you’re joking or not,” Alyssa teases, her eyes wandering briefly towards the end of the tailgate where Emma’s guitar is still resting. “You  _ did  _ say you take requests…” 

“What, do you want to hear ‘Wonderwall’?” Emma asks teasingly as she crawls to get her guitar, putting the strap over herself and walking back to Alyssa on her knees. “Or maybe some  _ Beatles?” _

“First of all, I’m  _ really  _ digging this look,” Alyssa winks and gives Emma another once-over… sitting there without a stitch of clothing on and a guitar slung across her body. “How about something you’ve learned to play since I’ve been away? Anything you want.”

Emma regards this question for a moment, thinking it over before she’s positioning her fingers and tentatively playing the first few notes to a song Alyssa doesn’t quite recognize immediately until Emma starts singing softly.  _ “ _ _ Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on earth, They say in heaven, love comes first, we'll make heaven a place on earth. Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.” _ She smiles to herself at how appropriate the lyrics are in the moment as she continues singing the first verse.  _ “When the night falls down, I wait for you and you come around-” _

“I did!” Alyssa pipes up as Emma’s fingers falter and she laughs to herself.

“Do you want me to sing or not?” Emma asks in mock frustration, and Alyssa makes a locking key gesture over her lips and Emma resumes playing.  _ “When you walk into the room, you pull me close and we start to move. And we're spinning with the stars above. And you lift me up in a wave of love…” _

Emma continues a little further into the song, and Alyssa listens and watches, transfixed by the performance. Everything about this moment is absolutely perfect and tears are starting to fall before she even realizes they’ve formed. Emma’s about to launch into the next chorus when Alyssa’s hand seems to reach forward of its own volition, pausing Emma’s progression to the next chords on the guitar. 

Seemingly confused, Emma looks at her questioningly, but Alyssa doesn’t say anything. She just moves a little closer and starts helping Emma lift the guitar off over her head. After she sets the guitar off to the side carefully, Alyssa is pulling Emma’s body into hers and stroking her cheek, touching and looking at Emma as if she’s something precious.

“You did it again,” Alyssa says, her voice sounding almost strangled with emotion.

“Did what, Baby?” Emma asks, her thumbs coming up to wipe the tears away.

“Made me fall even harder for you,” Alyssa sighs, leaning into Emma’s touch and turning her head slightly to press a tender kiss to her palm.

“Remind me to play you all the love songs from now on,” Emma murmurs before she moves to connect their lips in a soft kiss that doesn’t stay chaste for long, and then Emma is gently laying Alyssa on her back. With no hesitation, she’s moving down Alyssa’s body, peppering it with soft kisses. “Is this alright?” She whispers around the time she gets to Alyssa’s navel. She stops and looks up for approval, blonde curls wild and hazel eyes earnest.

Alyssa gazes down at Emma with unbridled desire and tenderness, her hand reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair back from Emma’s forehead. “Please,” Alyssa implores, her breathing growing a little ragged. Emma between her legs is truly a sight to behold.

Emma continues her trail of kisses ever lower until her head is firmly between Alyssa’s legs and her tongue is darting out eagerly to get another taste of her. She appears to savor it as she moans, the sound sending vibrations to Alyssa’s clit. Alyssa’s breathing stutters on a deep groan that quickly transforms into gasps and breathy whimpers. The fingers of one hand, unbidden, wind themselves into Emma’s hair as she urges Emma on, the other hand coming up to caress her own breast.

Emma flicks her tongue over Alyssa’s clit, clearly reveling in the way Alyssa’s hips buck against her face, and then her tongue is sinking down lower, teasing her entrance before dipping inside. That has Emma moaning again. Emma’s fingers had been  _ a lot _ before, but Alyssa thinks that her tongue might be the death of her. It’s simultaneously the softest and most intense thing Alyssa could imagine, and Emma’s growing enthusiasm between her legs just spurs Alyssa’s pleasure on even more. And then Emma’s withdrawing her tongue at a glacial pace and Alyssa thinks she might cry as she suddenly feels... empty.

“You taste  _ so much _ better than I imagined.” Emma rasps against her and then she’s back to giving attention to Alyssa’s clit while one of her hands snakes down to begin touching herself. Alyssa wills her eyes open to look down at the sound of Emma’s voice and is immediately thankful for what she sees. Suddenly, she can’t look away, even as the effort to keep her head from falling back becomes tremendous.

“ _ Fuck _ Emma! What are you  _ doing _ to me… I -” she almost cries as her words trail off into a series of incoherent moans. Still sensitive from Emma’s previous attentions and further encouraged by how unbelievably hot it is that Emma can’t help but touch herself right now, Alyssa feels herself very quickly nearing the edge. She’s positively writhing under Emma’s mouth, and the sensations are so strong this time, it almost frightens her.

Emma’s hips grind downwards into the pillows as she works herself closer to orgasm, her tongue swirling fast, strong circles over Alyssa’s clit and then she’s sucking on it fervently. The divine tug of Emma’s mouth is more than enough to send Alyssa toppling headfirst into bliss, and her body is arching up sharply, any effort to keep her head up or eyes open long forgotten. She thinks she yells out Emma’s name, among a whole string of expletives and possibly the Lord’s name too. But it’s also possible she blacked out for a few seconds, so she can’t be totally certain.

For a second, Alyssa thinks Emma’s going to crawl up and join her again, but instead, Emma’s mouth is back on her, tongue working back inside her as Emma adjusts the positioning of her own hand on herself, two fingers going inside as she bucks her hips with intent.

Alyssa’s body hasn’t even properly settled into aftershocks yet before her hips are jerking again and she’s bringing her hands up to cover her face in an instinctive effort to shield herself from  _ too much _ of something. Her voice breaks on a low whine that then sinks into a groan vibrating deep in her chest. She’s trembling and she’s seeing spots in her vision, and if it weren’t for Emma’s tongue defecting from her clit and instead slipping inside her, she would probably be crying from overstimulation.

Emma’s moans and whimpers have picked up frequency to match her hips as she fucks herself closer and closer to orgasm, her tongue moving to tease the area just around Alyssa’s clit before swiping fast over it and earning a hard jerk of Alyssa’s hips. 

“E-Em, I’m gonna… again,” Alyssa chokes out and she’s gasping as her clit throbs with the beginnings of another climax. Her hands lash out and dig into the pillows by her sides and maybe later she’ll check to make sure she didn’t rip anything, but right now she is barely fighting oblivion.

“That’s my good girl. You can do it - Fuck! - One more time, Alyssa.” Emma urges her on, her own breathing ragged as her tongue unleashes a series of scream-worthy moves on Alyssa’s still-sensitive clit.

It’s like those words hit Alyssa square in the deepest part of both her soul and her body, and she starts to quake, toes curling deliciously as waves of euphoric warmth pulse through her again. She struggles to catch her breath, whimpering helplessly as she finally collapses back, limp and satisfied in a way that she didn’t think possible these last few days.

“Oh my god,” Emma gasps, her own orgasm taking her over as she lets out a long, staggered groan and her hips are twitching forward lightly with aftershocks. “Lys, that was…” She trails off, her mind blanking as she just wordlessly crawls up to lie down beside Alyssa, pulling her into a firm embrace and kissing the top of her head. “Absolutely perfect,” She says finally.

Emma’s ability to make her feel beautiful, wanted, loved, and good enough -- no, not just  _ good enough _ … like she is the  _ best _ without even being in any kind of competition -- never ceases to amaze Alyssa. It brings her peace in a life and world that constantly has her walking on eggshells, and she loves Emma all the more for it.

Teary-eyed but grateful, Alyssa nestles into Emma’s body, not caring at all about the heat. She buries her face against Emma’s throat and sighs happily. “Yeah, it really was. Are you  _ sure _ you’ve never done that before? That was almost  _ too _ perfect.” 

Emma chuckles to herself, blushing with what Alyssa can guess is mostly pride. “Yes, I’m sure. You are the first woman I’ve ever been with aside from… me.”

“Well, you’re one lucky lady then,” Alyssa says with a giggle, immediately followed by a yawn. 

“Tired?” Emma asks, amused, but yawns are notoriously contagious and she lets out one of her own.

“Mmhmm. Haven’t been sleeping well. Missed you too much,” Alyssa mumbles, her voice already thick with sleep and a little slurred. “And you should be sleepy too. You drove a long way, and we just had a biiiggg workout.” She giggles sleepily again. “I love you, Emma. You’re like an angel. My angel.”

“And you’re mine,” Emma whispers in her ear before she reaches for one of the extra blankets and covers them with it. “I love you too, Alyssa.”

“Night night, Em.” Alyssa presses a sleepy kiss to Emma’s throat, breathing in her relaxing scent and letting it out on a sigh as she begins to drift off.

“G’night, Angel.”

“Do you  _ have  _ to go back?” Emma whines as she puts on a clean t-shirt from her backpack, not bothering with a bra, the crisp morning air making clothes a bit of an unfortunate necessity.

“I wish I didn’t have to, but yes. I can’t even be sure they don’t already know I’m gone and have a search party out for me. I  _ really _ can’t deal with explaining all this to my mother.” Alyssa is swinging her legs back and forth on the tailgate, putting off the inevitable for as long as the sun hasn’t fully risen over the lake. “I still have my phone, and hopefully the next few weeks will fly by.”

“If I thought the old girl could handle it, I would be up here every weekend.” Emma crawls down to sit next to Alyssa and take her hand. “I don’t know how I’ll handle being away from you now that I know… well, you know. I’m gonna miss you like crazy.” She sighs as Alyssa looks out at the lake. “May as well enjoy the view while I can.”

Alyssa can feel Emma’s eyes on her, and her cheeks and stomach fill with warmth. She’s afraid to meet Emma’s gaze for fear she will break, but she turns to lock eyes with her all the same, traitorous tears already making themselves known. “I hope we get to have this again back home. Just… just being together and happy and ourselves.”

Emma leans into her. “We can, you know. I know you’re scared but… Alyssa, I want nothing more in this world than to be able to call you mine for all the world--or at least Edgewater--to know.”

Alyssa leans in as well, her forehead against Emma’s as she sighs, “I know, baby. I… we can discuss that when we’re both back home, okay? I promise.”

Emma nods. “Yeah, okay.” Alyssa’s not sure she sounds completely convinced, but it’s all she can hope for right now. “Anyway, do you need a ride back to camp?”

“Uh, no. It will be quicker and less risky if I walk the trail back and sneak in the back of the cabin.” Alyssa feels like her heart is being taken away from her, and she supposes, in a way, it is. At least she can have it back in a few weeks. She hops down from the tailgate, walking a few steps along the side of the truck and placing a hand on its edge. “Thank you for getting her here, old girl. Please get her back safe.” She looks up to see Emma looking at her curiously. “What? I said I needed to thank her, yesterday on the phone.”

Emma smiles. “You’re adorable.” She turns to get something from the truck before she hops down and presents her denim shirt from yesterday to Alyssa. “Here,” She says, having Alyssa put it on over her dress. “A little extra modesty at church camp never hurt anyone.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes, but smiles fondly. “It will also help me feel a little closer to you. I love you so much.” Then she’s leaning in and kissing Emma with all she’s got, pouring almost a month’s worth of kisses into it to last them both.

“Now, don’t go doing something crazy like getting yourself kicked out of bible camp for sneaking out to do impure, homosexual things with your sinner girlfriend.” Emma snickers as she pulls away. “I love you too much to see your mother ground you for the rest of your life,” She leans in to give Alyssa a quick peck on the nose. “And I have way too many plans for when you get back.”

Nodding, Alyssa takes a deep, steadying breath as she tries not to break down into tears. “I’ll see you soon, baby. Please keep me updated about your trip back so I know you’re okay. But not while you’re driving. And we can try and talk every day now a-”

Emma leans in to give her another kiss, hand coming up to tangle in her hair and hold her there for just a bit longer than they probably should until Emma finally has to break away for air. “Lys, I promise you, I will talk to you every waking moment I can for the rest of the summer. Just  _ please,  _ for the sake of our social lives this year, try to stay out of trouble.”

“Well when you put it that way,” Alyssa sighs against Emma’s lips, a smile breaking through again. “I’m gonna head back while I still can.” She pulls away, her hand lingering in Emma’s a moment longer before she’s letting it go and walking backwards toward the start of the trail, not wanting to have to look away until she absolutely has to. 

“Bye,” Emma says, giving her a little smile and a wave, which Alyssa returns. Then she has to turn around and actually pay attention to where she’s walking.  _ Deep breaths, Alyssa. Just breathe.  _

The walk back to camp is brisk and quiet, and sneaking back into the cabin in the wee hours of the morning isn’t easy, but it’s nowhere near as difficult as having to say goodbye to Emma. There’s no sign that the camp has gone on red alert looking for her, and she creeps as quietly as she can to her bunk. 

The fake Alyssa seems undisturbed, and she makes quick work of destroying her before pulling out her pajamas and toiletries and scurrying to the bathroom. She showers and brushes her teeth, slipping into her pajamas with Emma’s shirt overtop because, well, she isn’t ready to give up that closeness yet.

She’s fairly certain she’s home free, but then she feels someone watching her as she’s pulling the blankets back from her bed. 

“So,” A voice that is definitely  _ not  _ from someone who only just woke up says, and Alyssa jumps, smacking her head against the top bunk. “How was it?” Jen asks, leaning over the side of the bed and waggling her eyebrows.

“Shhh!” Alyssa hisses, looking around quickly to make sure no one else was stirring. Rubbing her head, she lies down in the bunk and looks back at Jen, who is waiting very impatiently. “Do you really want me to tell you about it _here?_ _Now_?”

“Ugh, alright… but you’re dishing at breakfast or I’m scattering rubbers all over your bunk.” Jen pulls her head back up for a second and all is silent, then she leans back down, grinning. “I’m just kidding. I’m not  _ that _ mean, and I paid for those things. Waste not, want not.” Her eyes narrow and her grin gets even bigger. “Nice shirt, by the way. I went for some boxers last time.”

“Will you  _ please  _ keep your voice down?” Alyssa asks, shrugging out of the shirt and stuffing it under her pillow for safekeeping.

“Fiiiine. I bet you haven’t been keeping yours down, though.” Then Jen is sticking her tongue out and retreating back to her bunk before Alyssa loses it and throws a pillow at her upside-down face, missing as Jen lifts her head up just in time, and it smacks right into a sleeping Erica, who snorts and wakes up flailing, thankfully blind as a bat without her contacts.

“WHO DARE-” She points at Alyssa--or at least in her general direction. “Greene, was it you?”

Alyssa, thinking quickly, acts as if she’s groggy and Erica is disturbing her. “What? Dang, Erica… wake the whole cabin up, why don’t you?

“Oh, so it was God that threw a pillow at my face?” She asks, unconvinced as she reaches over to her nightstand for her Coke bottle glasses.

“Calm down, Maz Kanata,” Jen grumbles. “You were snoring and I was genuinely concerned you couldn’t breathe; you might want to look into one of those CPAP machines. You know, the ones with the Darth Vader masks.”

“I have  _ no idea  _ what you just said, but if you throw anything else at me, I will tell Pastor Josh.” Erica threatens, looking absolutely ridiculous.

Suddenly there’s several  _ shush _ noises from around the cabin as a few people stir a little and glare sleepily at Erica. She sputters and makes to point at Jen, but no one seems interested in an explanation; they just want it to be quiet. Sensing her argument is futile, she huffs and takes off her glasses, rolling back over and grumbling something unintelligible.

Everything is quiet after that for the next few hours until breakfast, where Alyssa makes sure to sit with Jen in a section of the mess hall where they and Erica don’t normally sit.

“Here, I got you a present,” Jen says, pulling three juice boxes up from where she held them out of sight from the mess hall monitors. Upon further inspection, they’re cranberry. “I’m guessing you didn’t pee immediately afterwards out there in the woods? Can’t have you mysteriously getting a UTI at church camp,” she offers by way of explanation.

“Um… thank you,” Alyssa says, taking them and opening the straw on one. “And thank you for that whole thing back there with Erica.”

“Really, it was my pleasure. What I wouldn’t  _ give  _ to throw something a little heavier at that bitch.”

“I know the feeling,  _ but please _ don’t get kicked out because of her. You’re the only cool person here and she isn’t worth it. By the way, Star Wars references? Wouldn’t have pegged you for a nerd. And I mean that in the best possible way.”

Jen smiles softly and takes a bite of her toast. “Aw, well thanks. You’re pretty cool too. And yeah, I’m a total Star Wars nerd. Billy and I actually met at one of the premieres. My aunt… uh, my dad’s sister… she’s a big sci-fi buff and got me into it when I was little. I don’t really get to see her anymore, but she still sends me letters sometimes and the coolest birthday and Christmas gifts.” There’s a genuine sadness to Jen’s voice and Alyssa frowns, curious.

“Why can’t you see her anymore?” Alyssa asks.

“Oh uh…” Jen fidgets a little and glances around nervously, continuing in a hushed voice. “After my parents decided to ‘find religion,’ they basically decided she would be a bad influence because… well, she’s gay.” 

“Oh!” Alyssa says, maybe a little too loudly. She searches Jen’s face for signs of the same disapproval her own mother gets when talking about ‘the gays’ but finds none.

“Yeah, which to be honest, I think is kind of a load of crap? Like… I bought this book because I saw a presentation this seminary student did on Christianity and homosexuality and he made  _ a lot _ of good points. It disappeared from my stuff a few nights into our stay here and I still don’t know what happened to it, but I’m willing to bet I know who snooped and turned it in or burned it or whatever.” Jen’s previously sad look turns bitter and Alyssa’s taking a moment to process what she just heard.

“Wow, okay so is that book called ‘God and the Gay Christian’ by any chance?”

Jen’s eyes widen. “Yeah! Have you seen it?”

“Yeah, I… someone turned it in because it was in the ‘Contraband Cabin.’”Alyssa supplies, not wanting to show all of her cards just yet.

“It ‘was’ in there? And… how would  _ you _ know?” Jen is eyeing her with slight suspicion, but mostly surprise and curiosity.

“I know because I’ve been inside the Cabin, and yes, it ‘was’ in there. I… liberated it, along with an item of my own. I’ll give it back to you later in private, I promise.” Alyssa hopes she didn’t just make a huge mistake but, honestly, Jen has already helped her multiple times when she had nothing to gain from doing so. In fact, she’s been risking quite a bit, so Alyssa figures she’s doing a smart thing by putting herself in Jen’s corner.

“ _ Holy shit _ ,” Jen whispers, looking at Alyssa like she’s just met Michelle Obama or something. “You’re… something else, Alyssa Greene. Thank you!” She pauses for a second and then her brow furrows. “Wait… why did you take my book out of the Cabin? You couldn’t have known it belonged to me, and it’s definitely a risky thing to have here.”

“I… well, I find the subject matter… interesting, I guess,” Alyssa looks at Jen a bit sheepishly, hoping she’ll either leave it at that or be insightful enough to glean the truth from Alyssa’s enigmatic statement. Jen’s eyes narrow and search Alyssa’s face, then her gaze is turning inward a bit as she seems to be going over things in her head, connecting the dots.

“Oh…  _ oh! _ Okay so…” Jen’s look of realization isn’t accusatory, but rather laced with respect and accompanied by a slight smirk. “You’re… or think you might be?”

“Yeah, I am.  _ Definitely _ after last night,” Alyssa lets her own smirk slip through. “Which is, after all, what you wanted the details on, right?”

“Of course!” Jen leans forward eagerly, and Alyssa can’t help but grin at having found an ally in the most unlikely place. “Wait! So, what’s her name? What’s she like?”

“Emma,” Alyssa says, to which Jen snorts. “Yeah, I know. Emma, Emmett. It was a simple enough switch. And everything I said about her is still true. Just… it’s a girl and not a guy.”

“Okay so blonde dorky-but-rebellious musician who rocks denim button-downs, got it. I see you, girl!” Jen grins and shoots Alyssa a look that says ‘ _ get it _ !’ before she pipes back up with, “Oh, so does this mean I can have all my condoms back? Nevermind… we’ll deal with that later. Details, woman!” Alyssa laughs openly and begins to recount the events of the night before, filling in background information when necessary. 

For the first time since she got here, Alyssa feels like this summer might not be so bad after all. She had last night with Emma, and a way to actually contact her from here on out. And to top it all off, now she has a friend and ally who not only knows the truth about her, but accepts her without question. 

There may be a lot of intolerance in the world, but with people like Jen, Emma, and herself, Alyssa feels a bloom of hope in her chest that maybe,  _ just maybe _ , one day the world could be something different. They just have to be brave enough to build it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it? Wow, congrats!  
> A big thanks to everyone in The Prom Discord who cheered us on through this! Even those of you who doubted this chapter's existence. You know who you are!  
> This really is the greatest community and we love y'all!
> 
> P.S. - WE HOPE Y'ALL LIKED JEN BECAUSE SHE WAS A REVELATION TO BOTH OF US!!

**Author's Note:**

> It didn't keep her pure and clean, did it?


End file.
